87 - 96

Chapter 87: Blackwater City

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"What do you think?" Anfey looked around. Besides two people who were watching over the orcs, everyone, including Hui Wei, gathered in the cave. Anfey talked about going to the Forest of Death again in front of everyone.

"Anfey, why do you have to go to such a dangerous place?" Christian smiled bitterly.

Anfey pointed at Riska with a finger but did not say anything. Everyone looked at Riska, which had made Riska quite confused. "Me? I did not say anything. I will follow Anfey and everyone else. You say where we go, and I will follow you."

"I used to think Zubin could be a magister after Christian. Did you get any insight from Riska? Why do you think you will be sent out for training when you reach a certain level. It usually could trigger your potential at a very dangerous moment. This potential is a key to help you break through the bottleneck. Riska is a good example of it. If we continue to stay here, it would not necessarily guarantee our safety. They will find us sooner or later. What do we do then? I know it is hard to search for people in the forest, but what if they do find us?" Anfey continued his talk: "If we go to Forest of Death, it looks dangerous, but quite safe for us. The biggest threat would be gone. As long as we are careful and cautious, I think we can handle the dangers in the Forest of Death. In addition, if we stay here, our practice will be no different. Facing the dangers in the Forest of Death will allow us to improve at a much quicker pace. In my opinion, you all have decent understanding of magic. What you lack of is real battle experience. It's time for us to practice it."

Anfey's talk made everybody quiet. Seven or eight of them were senior mages who had been experiencing difficulty moving to a higher level. With previous experience, regular practice would take them five to ten years, or even their whole lives, to break through the bottlenecks. Riska was a good example in front of them, which made their decisions difficult.

"I want to say something," Zubin interrupted.

"Go ahead," Anfey nodded.

"If these orcs can live in the Stone Forest in Forest of Death, so can we," Zubin said.

Zubin's talk enlightened everyone. He was right. If those orcs with low power could live in the Forest of Death, why couldn't they live there? If it was too dangerous in the Forest of Death, they could always retreat to the Stone Forest.

Anfey gave Zubin an appreciative look. "Zubin is right. Even if we cannot survive in the Forest of Death, as long as we can hold on there for a month, we still could come back at the next full moon. What else do we have to worry about?"

"Right!" Blavi nodded energetically. "It's not that we could not come back ever again. What are we scared of?"

The atmosphere seemed to lighten up, and everyone was either conversing quietly or thinking quietly by themselves. The atmosphere did not seem as depressing as before.

"I have other concerns, but I would like to go with Anfey's decision," Christian said slowly.

"How about you, Suzanna?" Anfey looked at Suzanna.

"I will follow you too," Suzanna said with a smile. Actually, Forest of Death was a perfect place for training for Suzanna. She was never against Anfey's decision. She explained so much about Death of Forest to Anfey in order to remind him to make the decision carefully.

"Nuts! Nuts! You are going nuts!" Hui Wei lost himself and stood up. "What is wrong with staying in a safe place. I am telling you, you will regret when you see some of your group dead in the Forest of Death."

"Don't worry about it. If anyone dies, I am sure you would be the first one. This place is not safe for us. You know we are students of Saul. Have you ever considered why we came here?" Anfey sneered.

"Why?" Hui Wei asked.

"Because we killed a person." Sanchez smiled. No one felt nervous any more when they recalled what happened. So what if he was the grandson of Phillip? They killed him but they were still alive.

"Killed whom?" Hui Wei asked.

"The only grandson of Grand Swordsman Phillip, the only direct heir of Phillip's, Zeda," Sanchez answered.

Hui Wei felt helpless and could not help sitting down. Phillip's hot temper was well-known. Now he understood why these people fled to Forest of Clarm, but the problem is he really did not want to go back to Forest of Death.

"Since everyone has agreed on it, we will get ready for the ritual offerings tonight. Today is exactly three days away from the full moon," Anfey said slowly.

"Shelter could only be started by orcs. Do you think they would help us do it?" Sante asked.

"I can be honest with them and let them know we are going to Forest of Death. Do you really think they want us to stay?" Anfey smiled. The treasure was not a secret any more. The greediness showed in the orcs' eyes. Asking them to help with ritual offerings would not be a problem. They could even fight to control it. In their opinion, those treasures would be theirs if Anfey's legion left.

"Do you have to go to the Forest of Death?" Hui Wei murmured.

No one paid attention to him. How could a captive have any say in this discussion?

"Can I see my dimensional ring for a second?" Hui Wei looked at Anfey in a way that he was asking Anfey for a favor. His dimensional ring had been confiscated by Anfey. Every dimensional ring had a special mark on it. Besides the master of the ring, no one could open it. After its master died, the magic mark would disappear over time. However, it would take a long time for the ring to change its master. No one could change the magic mark on the ring, not even grand magisters or grand alchemists. Therefore, Anfey could only take Hui Wei's dimensional ring away. Anfey could neither figure out what was in it, nor own it.

Anfey took out the dimensional ring and tossed it to Hui Wei without any hesitation.

Hui Wei looked like he was suffering. He hesitated a long time and finally took out a magic scroll from his dimensional ring and passed it to Anfey.

"What is this?" Anfey felt a wave of strong surges. He reached his hand out as he asked. It took Hui Wei a while before he unwillingly let the scroll go. He had a very complicated look on his face. He looked like he had just given up his whole world.

"Don't go to Forest of Death. This is a scroll of temporal teleportation to Blackwater City." Hui Wei heaved a long sigh. He finally pulled back his hand from the scroll.

"Teleport scroll!" Christian stood up in surprise, and walked to Anfey in a few strides. He took the scroll from Anfey and looked at it closely.

"Where is Blackwater City?" Anfey asked. Anfey did not need check whether the scroll was real. Christian could take care of that. Anfey only needed to make sure of other things.

"Blackwater City and White Mountain City are the two biggest cities in the Country of Mercenaries. Blackwater City is close to Wild Prairie, while White Mountain City is near Forest of Death. They both have the most complicated environments on Pan Continent as well. You will see a lot of things in Blackwater City," Suzanna said.

"Have you been to Blackwater City?" Anfey asked.

"Only when I was little," Suzanna answered.

"This is a Teleport scroll." Christian carefully passed the scroll back to Anfey. He looked at Hui Wei up and down. "I could not tell you are rich."

Hui Wei heaved a long sigh and tucked his hands back into the sleeves. He curled up and looked helpless, which made people feel bad for him.

"Give me the dimensional ring back first," Anfey said flatly, holding out one hand. His memory was good.

"Christian, is a teleport scroll rare?" Anfey asked.

"Not really, but it is expensive. Professor used to make teleport scrolls when he had free time. Usually a teleport scroll can sell for five hundred gold coins. If it was a special order to request a certain destination, then professor had to change the magic coordinate and the price would double," Christian said, smiling.

"That expensive?" Anfey was a little surprised. No wonder Saul spent a lot. Anfey thought Saul did some side jobs to make extra money with his status as an archmage in the palace court. He just learned that Saul himself was valuable. Mages seemed to have bright futures.

"Expensive?" Niya puffed out her chest with pride. "Unless the buyers were friends of my father, then yes. Otherwise he would not even make a scroll for them, even if they offered money."

Anfey smiled, "Christian, can you release this scroll?"

"Riska and I both can," Christian answered.

"I got it." Anfey turned to Hui Wei. "You cannot release this scroll since you have both magic and combat powers, can you?"

Hui Wei closed his eyes and refused to answer Anfey's question.

"Christian, how long will it take for the time space door to open after the scroll is released?" Anfey needed to know more details.

"Very quickly," Christian answered.

"How long would it take for the door to shut?" Anfey asked again.

"It depends on the person who released it. If magic power permits, a time space door can stay open forever." Christian said.

"Ok, everybody get ready soon so we can leave later tonight." Anfey stood up. "Christian, are the laws in Blackwater City as messy as in Forest of Death?"

"No, in Country of Mercenaries, the Union of Mercenaries has the authority. The Union of Mercenaries is the leader of the county," Christian answered.

"So…" Anfey was thinking quietly for a second. "Others can go and get some rest. Christian and Suzanna, can you stay and explain to me how Union of Mercenaries works?"

Chapter 88: Transport

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"I want to make sure where the magical coordinates are. You are sure it is in Blackwater?" Anfey stared at Hui Wei and asked slowly.

"Didn't you want to go to Forest of Death? Why give up now?" Hui Wei replied lazily.

"Answer my question."

"It is Blackwater. Why would I lie to you?" Hui Wei shook his head positively. "Normally, the mages would choose a lesser populated area when making a scroll of temporal teleportation in order to avoid portals overlaps and accidents. We can still see Blackwater from here, though."

"Riska, prepare to begin," Anfey said, handing the scroll over to him.

Riska took the scroll and moved to the side.

"Anfey, the tunnel is sealed," Zubin walked over and said. "The orcs are all working and you can't tell if anything is off from the outside."

"Great. Tell them to gather in the cave. Is everyone ready?" Anfey asked.

"Ready," the group replied. Niya and Shally looked the most excited. When Shally heard they were going to Blackwater City, she had asked the group to buy her food as soon as they got there. They had treasured Shally the way they had treasured the young unicorn, and would of course grant her wish.

After a few moments, the orcs gathered in the cave. They knew the mages were leaving and were beyond happy, their eyes glittering with joy. They had closed the tunnel and had worked efficiently, but they would open it again as soon as the mages left.

Anfey's eyes swept across the cave. Everyone was accounted for and they had brought everything they needed. After he made sure nothing was amiss, Anfey turned to Sante. "You can start," he said.

"Alright." Sante walked over to the mouth of the cave, and whispered a spell. He then called, as loud as he could, "We're leaving, goodbye, goodbye, see you all later."

His voice was amplified through his magic, and his voice washed over the forest like a tsunami wave. The forest hummed with the vibration caused by the magic. His magic was limited, and his voice could only spread for a dozen miles, but it was enough.

"Riska," Anfey called.

Riska tossed the scroll. A wave of blue light appeared, and it opened slowly like a large eye. After it opened into a full circle, the gate stopped wavering and the ring of light became more stable.

This was Anfey's first experience with a portal, and he thought the bright blue was beautiful. There were some faint white streaks surrounding the portal, which appeared mysterious and beautiful.

"Suzanna," Anfey said.

Suzanna glanced at him and walked towards the gate along with Zubin and Sante. The three of them stepped into the portal and disappeared. Christian, supporting Riska with his shoulder, crossed with his team. Niya, Shally, and Feller followed. Soon, the only ones left were Anfey and Blavi.

Seeing they were the only ones, Anfey nodded, and Blavi began whispering a spell. The orcs around them were waiting for their departure, and didn't think much of it. It wasn't until Blavi finished his spell that they realized something was off.

A wave of flame appeared and swept across the orcs. The orcs were standing in rank, and it was almost impossible to avoid the attack. The flame washed across the orcs. Some screamed and were rolling on the floor, but others simply fell down without a sound. When the flame swept their ranks, some of the orcs were breathing in and the heat incinerated their lungs. Even if it didn't kill them instantly, they still would not be able to make a sound.

Only about a dozen orcs survived the flame. Unfortunately for them, Anfey was on the move as well. While they were looking for anything that could be used as weapons, Anfey was already in front of them. A female orc encountered him first. She flailed around like a madman, but Anfey stepped around her and stabbed her in the neck with his sword.

No matter who he was fighting, Anfey would always attack three points on the body: the neck, the head, and left chest. The neck was the most vulnerable part of the body, and every time Anfey aimed there, he would succeed.

An old orc found a piece of rock, but before he could do anything with it, Blavi's fireball hit him. He was thrown into the air, slammed into a wall, and fell to the ground.

"Anfey!" Blavi called.

Anfey jumped off of the ground, and a wave of lightning spread across the ground.

Anfey landed and struck an old orc on the back of his head. He became a blurred shadow as he sped through the remaining orcs, his sword splitting the air.

If Suzanna was here and saw his moves, she would receive new inspirations for her own sword skills.

Anfey's sword struck out towards air, but he would step aside and slash at an orc's throat. For a normal swordsman, moving and attacking were two separate movements. For Anfey, however, moving was attacking. He could hit his target no matter from which angle he struck.

His movements were fluid and strange, and none of the orcs had any time to react before falling to the ground.

At first Blavi tried to cooperate with him and attack with magic, but by the end he was just watching his companion move.

"Blavi," Anfey said when he cut down the last orc. Blavi nodded and began a spell. The cave shook violently, and the roof began caving in. Rocks fell down into the cave. Before the cave collapsed completely, Blavi and Anfey had already crossed through the portal.

Anfey felt a flash of coldness when he crossed. He heard Christian's voice as his feet hit solid ground. "What took you so long?"

"Had to tell the orcs something," Anfey said, smiling. He was a cold person, but he had no prejudice. He would not classify a person as an enemy because of the person's appearance. In his mind, there were only three kinds of people. Enemies that would threaten him, friends that deserved his assistance, and the rest, who were irrelevant to him. Before the orcs attacked them, he did not dislike them. After he had conquered them, he still did not dislike them. After he had seen their greed, however, he knew he had to do something.

It wouldn't matter what he told them. The orcs would still try to take treasures after he left. He didn't care much about the gold, but what if the orcs tried to tamper with the chest and triggered the element lock? Surely they would not heed any of his warnings.

"I thought Phillip was mad. You're even more so," an old man standing on a tree branch said.

"I'm always like this." Ernest shrugged and said, "Thanks for saving me."

"You swordsmen are so headstrong," Steger said. "Retreating this way. So reckless. If I'm right, Niya went the other way."

"You mages are so smart," Ernest smiled. Steger did not kill him and did not try to track down Niya because he had already picked sides.

"By god I hate this forest, but at least we have an explanation," Steger said, shaking his head. He was too old for the trials of the Magic Beast Forest.

"An explanation for Yolanthe or Saul?"

"His Majesty? He's already…" Steger said, trying to find the right words.

Just then, they heard the faint sound of yelling from the other side of the forest, "We're leaving…"

"Amplifying magic?" Steger frowned and asked.

"They're leaving? To where?" Ernest frowned as well.

Chapter 89: Country of Mercenaries

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Country of Mercenaries was the only country without a military on the Pan Continent. However, its defensive ability could not be neglected. When Ellisen Empire was at its peak, Ellisen Empire wanted to take over some territories in Country of Mercenaries. The Ellisen Empire test attacked Country of Mercenaries.The soldiers in Ellisen Empire had an excellent record on the battlefield against the mercenaries. Mercenaries did not dare to confront them on the battlefield. They neither seemed to be organized nor had a united military force. In the first month, Ellisen Empire took over one-third of the territory in the Country of Mercenaries.

Soldiers in Ellisen Empire were excited. They wrote an oath to the king, swearing to take over the whole Country of Mercenaries in three months. However, they found they were surrounded by "War Marsh" before the oath even reached to the desk of the king of Ellison Empire.

Mercenaries were everywhere in the Country of Mercenaries. Some of them were natives while others were immigrants. They were civilians in the country and became mercenaries as needed. Sometimes if knocking on a door in the Country of Mercenaries, it was easy to find that there were a few swordsmen or magisters in the family. It was nothing surprising.

Mercenaries could be organized in different ways. It could be friends who shared the same interests, a family, neighbors, even a village itself as a large size mercenary group. No matter how the mercenaries were organized, their sense of morality, loyalty, and responsibility were far better than militaries.

Although different sized mercenaries fought on their own, they still brought huge trouble to Ellisen Empire militaries. Logistics, small-scale rangers and scouts in Ellisen Empire suffered constant attacks. In other words, unless the soldiers in Ellisen Empire stayed together in their camp, any group of soldiers sent out on a mission, no matter whether a group of several, more than ten, or even hundreds, they all suffered fatal attacks from mercenaries. When the main force came to help, they would only see the dead bodies of their soldiers. When they did investigations in the villages, they could not find anything. Those civilians, or people who appeared to be civilians, were hostile towards the soldiers in Ellisen Empire and refused to cooperate.

Logistics suffered the most. In order to take territory in the Country of Mercenaries quickly, the military in Ellisen Empire usually only left hundreds or a few thousand soldiers as guards after they took over an area while, the main force would keep advancing. Mercenaries fought back and annihilated forces of guards one after another. Ellisen Empire's military found they fell into a situation where they were surrounded by opponents.

Soldiers in Ellisen Empire could not tell apart a peaceful civilian and a killer who killed their peers. They could not control the situation. The word "slaughter" was taboo. In the battles of humans against other races, slaughterers had always become heroes of humans, but slaughterers could be spurned by all human beings in the civil wars. Of course, it was still possible to slaughter the Country of Mercenaries. It depended on the determinations of the upper class in Ellisen Empire.

First of all, Country of Mercenaries was a country with a fighting history. Death would not scare them since they had a history of fighting off the grim reaper. Slaughter would only make mercenaries indulge in extravagant acts of revenge. Ellisen Empire militaries needed to prepare for fighting alone, since other countries on Pan Continent might unite together to fight against Ellisen Empire. The delivery of metals, magic crystals and other military supplies would be blockaded. Then it would be hard to get any supplies from other countries, while local goods in Ellisen Empire would become less available. They also would experience political and economic isolation and attacks. If Country of Mercenaries tried to call for other countries to fight together against Ellisen Empire in the name of justice, then Ellisen Empire would be at a military disadvantage.

These disastrous possibilities made the upper class in Ellisen Empire finally decide, after lengthy deliberations, to recall their armies. Their offensive plan of moving forward in three branches was foiled. Armies in those three branches gathered together and retreated to Ellisen Empire as fast as they could.

A couple of soldiers died here and over ten soldiers died over there. It did not seem like a big number of fatalities. However, it happened so frequently that when the fatalities were added up, plus the lost guards, the upper class in Ellisen Empire found the fatality total had reached 40,000.

The war ended by the loss of the aggressor, Ellisen Empire. Since then, the other countries would always consider the military strategy of the Country of Mercenaries by involving everyone in the war. Country of Mercenaries and Tumen Commercial Union were two special governments in the south and north of Pan Continent, respectively. Compared with Tumen Commercial Union, Country of Mercenaries had full autonomy, while Tumen Commercial Union was dependent on Maho Empire. Tumen Commercial Union could develop to this extent so far due to the open policy of the Maho Empire. If the king of Maho Empire were cruel and greedy, Tumen Commercial Union would not be in such a good position.

Blackwater City was one of the two most important cities in the Country of Mercenaries. It was also one of the biggest distribution centers of magic crystals on Pan Continent. In the magic world, the demands and wear and tear on magic crystals was huge. Whoever had control of magic crystals would have control of the lifeblood of Pan Continent. Ellisen Empire used to be very powerful, but went into decline later on. Ellisen Empire was overtaken by Maho Empire. The policy of refusing businessmen from Ellisen Empire into Country of Mercenaries played an important role in it. After the invasion by Ellisen Empire, this policy had been carried out for a hundred years, which damaged Ellisen Empire's economy greatly. Ellisen Empire had to buy magic crystals at a high price from the countries which had amicable relations with it. The lost in the past hundred years could not be calculated. This was a classic example of karma on Pan Continent.

A hundred years later, the revenge did not stop until a beautiful princess of Ellisen Empire married a regimental commander from a super mercenary group in the Country of Mercenaries. The age difference between them was huge. Whether the marriage was the result of political concerns was not possible to trace back.

Two sons of that regimental commander passed away from accidents, and the two-year-old grandson died from disease a year later. The son of that beautiful princess inherited the position of regimental commander. Whether what happened in this family was by accident or planned was going to be a myth. It was not worth looking into it anyway, since people knew Ellisen Empire was rebounding to recover its past strength.

Other kings on Pan Continent learned from Ellisen Empire about the potential threat from the Country of Mercenaries. They tried to keep a good relationship with the Country of Mercenaries as they kept an eye on it. They could bear to have their main resources under the control of an unorganized country, but could not allow a powerful authoritarian government to appear because it would become a huge threat to all the countries.

The upper class in the Country of Mercenaries seemed to understand this principle. Four super mercenary groups had been in power by turns. Every term was only one year long. No matter which mercenary group developed quickly, other mercenary groups would work together to reduce its power. There was much internal dissension among mercenaries. They knew they had to have internal dissension to reduce their power in order to avoid being the target of other countries.

Anfey learned about these from Christian and Suzanna. There was a saying that "you need to see it to believe it." When Anfey entered Blackwater City, he sensed a total different feeling in Blackwater City than in Maho Empire and Tumen Commercial Union.

The city walls in Blackwater City were very low. The Country of Mercenaries was a country without defensive facilities, but with a strong defensive system. City walls were never helpful. Many pedestrians on the streets wore swordsman and mage signs. The swordsman and mage rates in Blackwater City were a lot higher than in Maho Empire. It seemed that the buildings on the street were very old. They were neither as tall and grand as the Maho Empire's, nor as fancy as Tumen Commercial Union's.

A pleasure-seeker on the street flipped a woman's skirt and squeezed hard on her butt. That woman looked like she enjoyed it. The bars were so loud that waves of sound came the bars that seemed like they could have made people on the street deaf. All of these would not happen in Maho Empire or Tumen Commercial Union. Maho Empire and Tumen Commercial Union seemed to be civilized, while it was still wild here. These three cities usually left people with quite different impressions.

Anfey found people on the street did not seem to be interested in others. Every time they encountered a weird person on the street, Christian and others in Anfey's legion would watch curiously for a while, but people in Blackwater City treated it like nothing had happened.

There was relatively more freedom in Blackwater City. The Mercenary Union would not interfere with personal lives unless they caused safety issues for others. No one would judge if a person was riding in a female elf slave's carriage, or even killed a female elf slave on the street, since that person just destroyed his own property. However, he had to pay a cleaning fee for it. Of course, that person needed to be prepared for revenge from the proud elves.

"Female elf slave" sounded like a low status. It would be wrong to think that way. Female elf slaves only meant they had just entered the human society. Their status would change over time. Some of them would earn higher social status, while other would earn lower social status. The wife of the current regional commander of the Tiger of Tawau mercenaries used to be an elf slave, but she had thrown off her slavery and become an influential member of the upper class. She had nine children with her husband. Every child of hers was outstanding.

"Anfey, if the people in Blackwater City learned about the warrant sent by the Phillips, would our safety be an issue?" Blavi whispered as he watched the people on the street.

"No, mercenaries are not killers. Phillip was just a master swordsman. He did not have such influence," Suzanna answered quietly.

"Let's find a place to stay first. We should rent or even buy a house later," Anfey said, looking at the sign for a hotel.

Chapter 90: Old Friends

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Suzanna!" a voice called from the other side of the street.

The group stopped in its tracks, and everyone turned to look for the source of the voice. A young man in his twenties with a longsword on his hip hurried across the street. It was evident from his badge that he was a junior swordsman. "Suzanna, oh god, it's really you!" he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Vonmerg? What are you doing here?" Suzanna looked surprised, but happy.

"You were the best among all of us, but then you just disappeared. We couldn't stay there anymore, so we came here," the young man said, extending his arms. "It's so good to see you again!"

Suzanna took a step back and avoided his embrace. "You haven't changed at all," she said.

Vonmerg laughed awkwardly and turned his gaze to Anfey, "And this is…?"

"This is Anfey, our leader, and Christian, our deputy," Suzanna introduced.

"Greetings," Anfey and Christian nodded.

"Greetings," Vonmerg said, slightly shocked. "Suzanna, you joined the patrol? That doesn't sound something you would do."

"We're definitely not the patrol," Suzanna smiled and explained.

"It's so good seeing you again," Vonmerg said, nodding. "Our Angel Mercenary Band is finally together again."

Regardless of what the others thought of the word "angel," Suzanna found herself blushing. She was beautiful, and her personality more likable than girls like Niya. She had worked with the group for a while now, but no one had tried to flirt with her. After her first encounter with Anfey, she couldn't really be an angel in front of him, anyway.

Plus, Suzanna's exceptional skills shocked everyone in the group, and they all reckoned they were too weak to even try to flirt with her. Someone as daring as Vonmerg was an oddity.

"Ah, sorry, Vonmerg, we...we are starting a new mercenary group," Suzanna said hurriedly.

"Ah...I mean…" Vonmerg froze.

"I mean, you can join us…" Suzanna didn't want to see her old friend upset, but she remembered Anfey was in charge of the group, not she. She shouldn't invite people without consulting him first. She turned and looked at him. Anfey thought about her offer to Vonmerg for a moment, and nodded.

"Vonmerg, why don't you join us?" Suzanna asked again, this time more confident.

"Alright!" Vonmerg smiled at this unexpected offer. He turned to Anfey and said, "The name's Vonmerg, junior swordsman. Glad to be working with you, sir."

"No need to be polite," Anfey said, extending his hand. "We are all friends here."

Vonmerg noticed Anfey's power, and had appeared surprised, but he quickly shook his hand.

Anfey had expected Vonmerg to start a fight or look for trouble. If he really was a shallow person, Anfey would not have hesitated to ask him to leave. Now, though, he was satisfied by Vonmerg's actions.

"Oh, by the way, Suzanna, Hagan is here too. I'll take you there."

"Hagan? You guys are together?"

"Of course. He was the one keeping me alive."

"Where is he?"

"In the inn, over there. Come on, I'll take you." Before anyone else could say anything, Vonmerg was already running towards the inn.

The group followed Vonmerg to the inn. Seeing so many people walking in at the same time, but inn owner happily walked over to greet them. He saw Anfey first, then he saw Christian and Niya, and for a split second he was shocked.

It was only a few seconds, but enough for Anfey to realize something was off. He sighed. He wanted to come to Blackwater because he wanted everyone to practice their craft in more complicated situations, so they could return to Maho Empire to look for Saul. He didn't expect to be recognized their first day here. Was it because of Phillip's extensive powers? Or was it just coincidence?

"Hey, I'm going to take the entire third floor," Vonmerg called.

"Of course, of course," the inn owner said. "Please give me a moment and I'll take you to your rooms."

"Looks like you're living well nowadays," Suzanna said, smiling.

"It's better. You know, Suzanna, Hagan is only an elementary alchemist, but there are only so many in the city. We can more or less make a decent living."

"What do you do, then?"

"Me? Trying to find business, of course. Hagan would never find work on his own without me."

Suzanna smiled and shook her head, and wasn't sure if she should comment on Vonmerg's ability or his natural way with money.

"Are you ready for your rooms?" the inn owner asked. He walked from behind the counter with a string of keys.

"Alright," Anfey nodded.

The inn was not busy. As they ascended the stairs, they did not see another patron. Vonmerg marched up to one of the doors and knocked on it. "Hagan!" he called. "Open the door! You'll never guess who I found!"

"Vonmerg, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't disturb me when I'm in the middle of an experiment!"

"Open the door, you idiot. You're gonna regret it if you don't," Vonmerg called, raising his voice.

The door was slammed open and a young man appeared. He was thin and tall, and appeared very scholarly. He looked angry, but when he saw Suzanna he had the same expression as Vonmerg only a few minutes before. "Suzanna?" he asked.

"Hagan," Suzanna smiled and said, "it's been a while."

"Come in, come in," Hagan invited. "How did you know we are here?"

"I didn't," Suzanna said. "We ran into each other on the street."

"It was a coincidence," Vonmerg said. "Here, Hagan. This is our leader, Anfey."

"Leader? Of what? Mercenaries?"

"Let's go inside first," Anfey said. "Give us the key. You can go now."

The inn owner handed him the key and glanced at his face again before going downstairs.

Anfey looked at Blavi, who nodded and moved over to stand by the wall next to the stairway. They were the only ones occupying the rooms, and Anfey didn't want any irrelevant people coming up there.

Then he gave the keys to Feller and placed him in charge of the living arrangements. The rest of the group all filed into Hagan's room.

It was a small room, and with half a dozen people it became crowded. The furniture inside was simple as well. There was a desk and four chairs. In one of the corners was a bed, and there were some necessities scattered around the room. The only thing that was eye-catching were the bottles on the floor next to the bed. There were at least a dozen there, and each was filled with liquid of different colors.

"Suzanna, you're a mercenary now?" Hagan asked. "What's the name?"

"Haven't decided yet," Suzanna said.

"I take it that you haven't register either?"

"We just arrived and haven't found the time yet."

Hagan looked at each person carefully, and when he saw Niya he froze and stared at her.

"What are you looking at?" Niya asked angrily.

Niya looked very plain. Anfey wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble, so made Niya and Suzanna were church clothes. He had told them to keep their hair messy and their faces makeup free. Because of that, Niya had felt ugly and extremely sensitive to other's stares.

"That...that's…" Hagan raised his hand and pointed a finger at Niya's bag. The bag was small and occasionally moved. Clearly it contained some living creature.

"Niya, go," Anfey frowned. Why was an alchemist so sensitive to the presence of magic beasts?

Niya glared at Hagan and left the room.

"Wait!" Hagan called, jumping up.

Zubin and Sante both took a step forward and blocked his path, staring at him as a silent warning.

Chapter 91: Chaos

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Stop, stop! We are friends. Let's talk." Vonmerge noticed something went wrong and tried to mediate the dispute.

"What is inside?" Hagan was so worried that his face turned red.

"It is nothing to do with you," Anfey said flatly.

"But…" Hagan tried to argue.

"Alright, alright." Vonmerge quickly covered Hagan's mouth. "Commander, you know Hagan's temper. Please forgive him."

"You guys can stay and get to know each other first. Suzanna, can you come out for a second," Anfey turned around and walked out of the room.

Seeing Suzanna following Anfey out, Vonmerge and Hagan's eyes were as big as saucers. They had followed Suzanna for a year and gone to a lot of places together. They knew about Suzanna. Suzanna looked petite and soft outside, but she was a strong and tough woman. She had her own ideas about things and did things assertively. They had never seen Suzanna so obedient.

In the hallway, Anfey paused for a moment and asked in low voice, "Suzanna, how long have you known them?"

"Almost a year and a half," Suzanna answered.

"Do you know them well?" Anfey asked.

"Yes," Suzanna said.

"What kind of people are they?" Anfey asked.

"Generally speaking, they are not bad. Vonmerge likes joking around. Hagan is hot tempered, but they are nice people." Suzanna smiled.

"Suzanna, Hagan has already noticed the presence of little unicorn. Can you tell him to keep our secret. He cannot tell anyone, especially Vonmerge. Vonmerge looks like he has a big mouth. If he knew about it, he would let others know about little unicorn," Anfey said.

Anfey learned from Suzanna and Christian that there were few people in history who had received the loyalty of unicorns. Those few people all were very influential and had strong combat powers, which guaranteed their success and safety in battle. Anfey was not as good as them in terms of combat power and influence. Therefore, he had to be careful and cautious.

"Yes, I will call him over and let him know now," Suzanna said.

"You do not have to do it now. We have to do something to distract Vonmerge, otherwise he could try to get the secret from Hagan. Hagan looks very honest. Suzanna, are you sure they will be helpful for us?" Anfey frowned.

"Anfey, Hagan is an alchemist. He will be very helpful for us. Vonmerge is just a junior swordsman, but he is very social and has the ability to connect with others quickly. Our legion needs someone like him," Suzanna said sincerely. She had not been with Anfey and his legion long. She had traveled with Vonmerge and Hagan for more than a year. However, the strength of the bond between people was not determined by the length of time they had been together. She had experienced life-threatening moments with Anfey and his legion and shared a major secret with them. Therefore, she could analyze Vonmerge and Hagan's personalities and qualities in front of Anfey, but would not tell Vonmerge any secret of Anfey's legion.

Anfey nodded while Suzanna continued, "If you want to distract Vonmerge, I have an idea, but I have to borrow your arm."

"Borrow my arm? What do you mean?" Anfey had maintained a serious face for the discussion.

Suzanna heaved a slight sigh. "Never mind, I will go in first." She opened the door and walked inside.

Anfey was quite confused. He was in thought for a while before he turned around to Blavi and asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Blavi said.

"Can you watch up here for a minute? I need go downstairs," Anfey said.

Everyone seemed more friendly towards each other in the room. Vonmerge did help lighten up the conversation. Suzanna walked into the room and stood next to Christian. She whispered to him, "I will borrow your arm." Suzanna held Christian's arm before he could realize what was happening.

Vonmerge had liked Suzanna for a long time. Suzanna knew how Vonmerge thought about her, but she did not feel the same way about him. Suzanna had had bad experiences since she was little. In her mind, a guy who was not as good as her should be able to face tough times with her together and help her. Vonmerge could not do any of those things, at least not when they travelled together. Suzanna took care of everyone when they travelled together.

Vonmerge had been watching Suzanna out of the corner of his eye. When he suddenly saw Suzanna holding Christian's arm, his face became pale. His voice became hoarse.

Meanwhile, Anfey had walked down to the first floor. The owner saw Anfey walking downstairs by himself, so he stood up and smiled. "Dear guest, how can I help you?"

"I just need some fresh air. I will walk around a little. I am good. Thank you." Anfey smiled as he looked around. "Sir, your business must be good." Anfey laid his eyes on the blackboard opposite the cashier table. A lot of things had been written on the blackboard, and they all started with "magic crystal". Anfey looked at them closely.

"Not bad. It just helps make ends meet." The owner smiled. "My dear guest, are you interested in magic crystals? Do you want to buy or sell?"

"We are going to form a mercenary legion soon, so I want to learn more about the magic crystals. Sir, you can call me Anfey," Anfey said.

"Anfey, nice to meet you. My name is Clark." He walked out from behind the cashier's counter and stood next to Anfey. "These prices are updated. I ask my employees to go to Mercenary Union and Commercial Union to copy all kinds of military assignments and prices down every morning."

"Why don't you have the price for senior magic beast crystals?" Anfey asked flatly.

"Senior magic beast crystals? Anyone who has senior magic crystals would not stay in my hotel," Clark answered, and he felt a little embarrassed about it.

"Ok, does the price list need to be updated every day? It is a lot of work," Anfey said.

"What can we do? Too much competition among the hotels. All the hotels in Blackwater City have to update the price list every day for the convenience of their guests so they do not have to go to Mercenary Union to accept any assignment on their own. They only need to pass me the crystal plate and I will send my employees to do it for them."

"How about registering a mercenary?" Anfey asked.

"Hmm, we cannot help with that. Mercenary Union will check on it, so we cannot help you with that," Clark said.

A few big guys walked by the hotel. They all looked drunk. One of them looked at the hotel and suddenly picked up a stone and threw it at the hotel. The stone flew by Clark and hit the wall. The guys laughed wildly and wobbled away.

Clark's face was still peaceful, like nothing had happened. Anfey was a person who liked to fight for justice. He thought for a second and smiled. "Are they in four super mercenary groups?"

"Definitely not, they are nobodies," Clark sneered. Anfey could tell from that sneer that Clark was actually mad. However, he was really good at hiding his emotions.

"How come they dare to act so obnoxiously?" Anfey asked.

"They used to stay in my inn. They are members of Giant mercenary. Back then, A Red Rock mercenary was staying in my inn as well. They were a lot stronger than Giant mercenary. Later, Red Rock mercenary took an assignment to acquire a dead body of Thunder Eagle. They went into the Forest of Death for it. Giant mercenary left the hotel after them." Clark sighed. "Red Rock mercenary never came back to the inn. Their belongs were still kept here. Well, when Giant mercenary came back, they got six or seven top Thunder Eagle magic crystals. I bet Red Rock mercenary was ambushed by them, because they could not get so many Thunder eagle magic crystals on their own. Those two mercenaries argued a few times in the inn previously. Every time the kids in Red Rock mercenary were more mature and let it go. Poor kids!"

Anfey squinted his eyes, picturing Red Rock mercenary working together and finally killing a few Thunder Eagles. They must have been exhausted from the fighting. Some of them might have been wounded or killed. Before they could get out of their sadness and retrieve their magic crystals, Giant mercenary came up behind them and killed them. They not only took their lives, but also the magic crystals. Forest of Death was such a chaotic place.

No wonder Hui Wei said Forest of Death was far more horrible than any magic beast.

"You should have told others about it. People would condemn Red Rock mercenary for what they have done," Anfey said.

"Condemn?" Clark shook his head. "The survival of the fittest is the rule of Forest of Death. Someday if you take your mercenary to the Forest of Death, you have to keep that rule in mind."

"Thank you for your advice." Anfey smiled and then walked upstairs. Seeing what a few guys in Giant mercenary had done to Clark, Anfey knew what he needed to do. When the stone flew by Clark, most people would be shocked or dodge away, but Clark was calm and did not move his body a bit. This did not seem to match the weak combat power Clark had.

"Anfey, don't you want to see the assignments of Mercenary Union?" Clark asked.

"No, not yet," Anfey said.

Clark watched Anfey disappear around the corner. He slowly went back to the cashier's counter. There were a few magic images under the table, with Anfey's image on top of stack.

Chapter 92: Plans

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The bar was bustling with people, and everyone was screaming at each other. Speaking with a friend in this environment would have been almost impossible, and in order to do so one would have to scream over several other people. Anfey did not like places like that, and nor did Christian. They sat there silently, and seemed out of place in the busy bar.

"You're certain that Shansa is making a move towards Maho?" a hoarse voice asked.

The clamor came to a halt. Everyone was talking about the rumors they had heard, but some rumors were more important than others, and the war was definitely on everyone's mind.

"My sources are a hundred percent correct," another voice replied loudly.

"You're joking. There is no way Shansa can take Maho's Blackania City. How many times have they tried, but to no avail?"

"That's why you can't be a general, you idiot."

"Well enlighten me, then."

"Shansa didn't attack Blackania. They went through the Broken Valley."

"The Broken Valley? But that belongs to the mercenaries…"

"Money, money," the man said, holding up two fingers. "Two hundred thousand gold pieces. Enough to buy anything. More than enough to buy a path."

The other man sighed. "It's too bad. Old Yolanthe was a good man. Too bad he died so young."

"If Yolanthe was still alive, Shansa would never invade Maho."

"Even if Yolanthe was still alive, Shansa would still make their move. Ellisen Empire is already closing in on Maho. You know what this means? They are splitting Maho. Heed my words. Things are going to change."

"This may be the end of Maho."

"You're right. Maho's Granden couldn't hold against the Ellisen armies, and even their archmage Saul was defeated and injured by Newyoheim."

"If Maho Empire falls, surely Ellisen and Shansa would become much stronger. Say, do you think they will threaten our Country of Mercenaries?"

"Are you thick? Did you forget what the relationship between Glory mercenary and Ellisen was? And now Shansa and Tiger of Tawau mercenary will be united through marriage… No, neither will touch us."

"Really? There will be a marriage?"

"Do you not believe me? Shansa's princess is coming to this very city in a few days."

While those men were speaking, Christian's expression grew grimmer and grimmer. His hands trembled and couldn't hold his ale cup still. Anfey maintained a straight face. He took the cup from Christian and set it down on the table.

"Anfey…"

"Wait until we're alone," Anfey said.

Then the mercenaries changed the topic from the war to their own futures. They were not affiliated with Maho Empire, and did not worry about the empire's impending doom.

The bar became clamorous again. Seeing that they had gathered all the information they could, Anfey and Christian quietly slipped out of the bar.

Before they had gone into the bar, Christian had talked about the bright moon. Now, however, he could not spare the moon a single thought.

Niya had let the little unicorn out. For it, everything was new and exciting. For something living in the Magic Beast Forest, things like a bed and cups were a novelty. The little unicorn was overjoyed and was bouncing around in the room. Niya watched it play and was laughing hysterically.

Just when she was the happiest, Anfey and Christian came into the room. Anfey's face didn't betray much, but Christian looked solemn. Niya was no longer the innocent little girl after everything they had gone through. "What happened? Did you guys go out for information? Did you…" she asked, shocked.

"Nothing. Just some news about Shansa. Niya, can you leave the room for a second? We need to talk," Anfey said before Christian could tell Niya anything. He couldn't let Christian talk. They weren't sure if Saul was really injured, but if Niya found out, she surely would try to go find him.

"Can't I listen?"

"We will tell you once we are done," Anfey said, smiling.

Seeing that he was smiling, Niya felt more at ease. She nodded and said, "Alright. Tell me everything afterwards."

"Of course," Anfey promised her. "Niya, can you tell Blavi, Riska, Zubin, and Sante to come and talk to me?"

"Of course."

After a few minutes, the four of them gathered in the room. Christian repeated to them everything they had heard in a hushed voice. Everyone was stunned, and the room was dead silent. Fate had played a strange trick on them. Had they stayed in Forest Clarm, they could have avoided this. Phillip may be irrational and ruthless, but he would not have continued his hunt when his nation was falling apart.

They had decided to leave Forest Clarm to avoid their biggest threat and to train the inexperienced mages. Anfey didn't realize by leaving they might as well have walked into their doom.

"What you guys think we should do?" Anfey asked.

"Anfey, I don't want to stay here any longer. I want to go back." Christian said, determined.

Anfey sighed. Christian had never talked to him this way before. In the past, Christian had always left room for discussion, and if he insisted, Christian would listen to him. He knew that would not be the case now. It wouldn't matter what he says, Christian would not change his mind.

"What do you guys think?"

"I want to go back, Anfey," Riska said, his voice serious. "Maho needs us."

"And you?" Anfey asked, looking at Sante and Zubin.

"Whatever you say," Zubin replied quietly.

"Me too."

The conversation had seemed simple, but Anfey knew it was not. Christian and Blavi were his friends and his assistants. Zubin and Sante would be his trusted workers. They were two completely different cases.

"I don't oppose returning, but what can we do? Two junior magisters, a few senior mages, what do you think we can do?"

"We can't do much, but still better than staying here and doing nothing," Christian said.

"Who says we can't help by being here?"

"What can we do here, then?"

"A lot of things. Didn't they say Shansa's princess is coming here?"

"You're saying we are going to kill the princess?" Blavi asked.

"But marriage is only a way of doing things. We kill one princess, and they will send another. Will that work?" Christian asked.

"Of course," Anfey said. "One day you'll understand. Staying here is more important than killing a thousand man on the battlefield."

Christian stared at him in silence, then asked, "Anfey, what can we do?"

"Let's find the Mercenary Kingdom and the Broken Valley's maps first. We need to get to know Glory mercenary as well. They are the Tiger of Tawau's friends and enemy. Since Ellisen and Glory mercenary became connected through marriage, they had been helping Ellisen. They must have a lot of say after learning Shansa and Tiger of Tawau's deal. We can also kill some of the people in Glory mercenary and take their badges. It would help our cause in the long term." Anfey stopped to gather his thoughts before continuing, "In Blackwater, we are nothing. We need Vonmerge. Suzanna said he was a man of the world, so hopefully she is right. Let Vonmerge deal with Tiger of Tawau. If the princess really is coming, they must be busy. There must be some rumors out there."

The group glanced at one another, and Blavi spoke first, "I think he's right. Going back means going into the army. What can we do? There are a thousand others like us. We can contribute more by staying here."

"Alright, let's stay here for now," Christian said. Clearly he still wanted to return, and had only agreed to stay because he trusted Anfey.

"The first thing we need to do," Anfey said slowly, "is to decide if this place is safe or not."

Chapter 93: No Body

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Hurry up! I saw the old Phillip, I saw the old Phillip!" Feller was in a panic and rushed into the hotel. He had sweat all over his forehead. He shouted, "Someone sold us out. We gotta leave now!"

Anfey and Christian were looking at different assignments from Mercenary Union when they heard Feller. Their faces changed immediately. Anfey yelled, "Don't panic. This is Blackwater City in the Country of Mercenaries. I dare old Phillip would hurt us here."

"Anfey, you don't know how hot-tempered that old Phillip is. He would not care!" Christian shouted.

"We'd better leave now!" Suzanna said.

"We have been running away for a long time. Where else can we go? Let's fight him until we die!" Blavi said with his eyes wide open.

"Are you serious? How can we battle with a master swordsman?" Christian said.

"Don't worry. Suzanna is a senior swordswoman. We have so many mages too. I think we can do it," Blavi said.

Anfey did not say anything. He hesitated for a second before he pulled out his sword and walked outside. His action had said enough about what he was going to do.

Clark was shocked when he heard old Phillip was coming. He knew who Phillip was and understood the reason Anfey and his legion were so afraid of him. He was so worried when he heard Anfey's legion talking about going into battle against Phillip. He thought to himself, "These poor kids!" What can a senior swordsman do? There was a huge difference between a senior swordsman and a master swordsman. The magic attacks from mages were just like tickling Phillip. It would not take much for Phillip to kill all of them.

Seeing Anfey rushing out of the hotel, Clark shouted in instinct, "Wait! Don't do anything stupid. I have a secret chamber here. You guys can hide there for now."

"Chamber?" Anfey suddenly turned around and threw himself on the cashier counter, shouting excitedly, "Where is the chamber?" It looked like he had been pushed into a corner to go out to fight with Phillip. He did not have other options. If he had any chance to survive, he would not let it go.

Clark was still not sure who sold Anfey and his legion out. Phillip had already come, which meant he got accurate information, maybe even knew about this inn.

"Come with me," Clark said and then ran out from behind the cashier counter. He had already had an idea in this short period time. He thought he could ask Anfey and his legion to hide in his chamber, and then he would handle Phillip himself. If Phillip wanted to make a scene here, he would let Phillip know who he was and ask him to back off. Of course, there was a prerequisite for this to happen: that is, Phillip did not see Anfey and his legion, otherwise someone like him would not be able to stop Phillip.

Clark rushed into the storage room. The storage room, where stored all kinds of wines and other goods, was not big. Clark moved a heavy wine barrel at the corner of the left wall. There was a black stone underneath. He grabbed the stone and pulled it. A secret door slowly rose on the left wall.

Clark ducked in first. "Hurry, come with me."

Anfey suddenly stopped right at the door, while Suzanna had walked two steps down below the door. Suzanna stood right between Anfey and Clark.

Clark took the torch off the hallway wall, walked downstairs in front of everyone, then noticed no one had followed him. He turned around and yelled, "What are you doing? Come. Hurry up."

"Do you know us?" Anfey asked calmly.

"I…" Clark realized he was set up. He looked down and thought a little bit before he said anything. "I do not know you."

"Really?" Anfey said.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I do not mean to hurt you. You have to trust me. I swear I do not want to hurt you." Clark was worried and tried to explain.

"I know you did not want to hurt us, otherwise you would not warn of "survival of the fittest," but I want to know how you recognized us?" Anfey said.

"I saw your magic images." Clark said.

"Which magic union sent out those magic images?" Anfey asked.

"It's the magic union in the Country of Mercenaries," Clark said.

"Suzanna, take him down." Anfey shook his head.

Suzanna slowly took out her sword. Clark yelled, "Don't kill me. The intense combat power will attract the patrol's attention."

"We will be fine. I can just tell them we were cheated by an innkeeper and fought with him out of spite. I think it is you who will have to explain to the patrol. Magic unions are independent in each country. Some of them are even hostile towards others. How could magic images sent from the magic union in Maho Empire arrive here? Phillip should not have any influence over the Country of Mercenaries. I do not want to hear your lies anymore, Mr. Clark," Anfey said.

Clark did not say anything, but smiled bitterly. He had mixed feelings about it. To be honest, he was so worried about Anfey and his legion's safety that he exposed his hidden identity. How could Anfey and his legion take advantage of his kindness?

"Feller, take a few people with you to check around. Don't miss any place that looks suspicious. I will find it out no matter what." Anfey gave the order.

"Don't move!" Clark yelled. "Some areas are protected by magic arrays. If you move the wrong stuff, it might explode."

"Explode? I did not know you are a man of sacrifice. They are all mages. They know how to control magic arrays. You don't have to worry about it. Do you want to tell me what you are?" Anfey smiled.

"Don't do this to me. I am just a nobody." Clark smiled bitterly.

"Are you saying you do not have the authority to make a decision?" Anfey saw Clark passively agree, so he knew he had guessed right. He thought a little bit and said, "You can tell your supervisor that I would like to see him in private. You don't have to worry about it. Niya is the daughter of Professor Saul. We are all students of his. We would not do anything to harm the country's safety. After learning about the invasion from Shansa Empire, everybody wanted to go back to fight for the country. I thought we could help more if we stay here."

"How do you know we are working for the king?" Clark's face changed.

"There are only a few types of people who are interested in us and also know about us. I just took a guess. Can you take a message to your supervisor? We have common interests that we could talk about," Anfey said slowly.

"I am nobody," Clark restated, with a bitter smile on his face.

"Is one day enough?" Anfey acted like he did not realize he had put Clark in an awkward situation. He pushed him even further. Clark hesitated a little bit and nodded. He was just a liaison for the contacts. He was in charge of passing the information inside the organization but did not have any authority to make any decision. His experience was far less than the frontier spies. He had freaked out when Anfey had discovered his identity.

"Ok, let me know when you know about it," Anfey said.

* * * *

When Anfey and Suzanna walked into Hagan's room, he was engaged in various jars. He stood up quickly when he saw Anfey and Suzanna coming in. "Suzanna, here you are. Anfey, how are you?"

"Hagan, what are you doing?" Suzanna smiled.

"Didn't you give me a few pieces of wyvern magic crystals? I am thinking of making you a magic sword," Hagan said.

Anfey did not pay attention to who was greeted first by Hagan. He simply glanced around and asked, "Hagan, how is your alchemy?"

"What about it? Do you think I am not good enough? Then don't invite me to your mercenary!" Hagan got mad quickly again when he heard Anfey's question.

"Don't get mad. I only wanted to give you something. I was just afraid you would make some mistakes when you transform them into something else," Anfey said.

Hagan sneered, "What is it?"

Anfey took a few things out of his Dimensional Ring and passed them to Hagan. Hagan looked closely at them for a while and asked in surprise, "Is this a manticore's tooth?"

"Yes, can you make me a few blasting arrows with it?" Anfey asked.

"Sure," Hagan nodded without any hesitation.

"You can let Feller know if you need other materials. He can purchase them for you," Anfey said.

"Thank you, but I am an alchemist, not a blacksmith. I need ingredients instead of materials," Hagan corrected Anfey's inappropriate terms. "Vonmerge can help me collect ingredients. He is familiar with Blackwater, but…"

"Money is not a problem. Don't worry about it," Anfey smiled.

"That is great," Hagan nodded. He got mad quick but forgot about it in a second as well.

"I have two more items. Do you think you can make a suit of leather armor for Suzanna?" Anfey took out the unicorn and manticore furs from the Dimensional ring.

"Manticore's fur, hmm, is this unicorn's fur?" Hagan suddenly raised his voice. He threw himself onto the furs and touched them gently with excitement on his face.

Anfey waited a second and asked quietly, "Can you make leather armor?"

"Of course!" Hagan unwillingly moved his eyes away from the furs.

"Which one is better for leather armor?" Anfey asked.

"The unicorn's. Suzanna needs armor that can protect her from magic power." Hagan stared at Anfey. "Do you have any other good stuff? Take them all out together."

"And this one. I need a short-shaft spear." Anfey took out the manticore's tail stinger.

"Spear? I am afraid it would take too long to make. Do you want its paralyzing effects on the spear? Even if I could make a spear for you, you would be disappointed anyway," Hagan said slowly.

"Why?" Anfey asked.

"A manticore is a senior magic beast and very hard to catch. However, countless of them throughout history have been killed by human beings. Weapons with paralyzing effects are everywhere in the world nowadays. In fact, its paralyzing effects will disappear in two or three years after their death. It could also be affected by the amount of usage. It will be a regular spear by the time I finish making it."

"So…" Anfey was disappointed.

"If you do not want a spear, I can break the tail stinger and make it into a knife quick. Aren't you a swordsman? A knife should be helpful," Hagan said.

"Knife?" Anfey's eyes lit up with excitement. He hurriedly nodded. "Sure, I will have a knife."

Chapter 94: Information

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The clock struck midnight, but Anfey was wide awake. He was alone in his room with the unicorn. It stared at him intently with clear blue eyes. Even though sometimes it would make noises and struggle, sometimes it seemed like it could really understand what he was saying. Before they had entered Blackwater City, Anfey had to wrap it with cloth to keep it out of public sight, and had pointedly told it not to make any noises or movements. It wasn't until they had settled down in the tavern did the unicorn move. Now it was as if the unicorn understood that Anfey was meditating and had kept away from him to prevent distracting him.

The room had no light, and all the windows were shut with the curtains drawn, not allowing even the moonlight to shine through. However, it was not dark. There were more than thirty little balls of fire floating in midair providing light for room.

Anfey had been studying fire sword for the past few days and discovered that the more fireball present, the harder the sword would get. Anfey had already drunk a vial of the unicorn blood. Since it was kept by Christian and Feller, and Feller was loyal to him, he did not concern himself with any of the possible consequences.

It wasn't because Anfey was someone who used his power for personal gain. Christian had told him that the blood would be the most effective if he waited until he became an actual mage, but Anfey had different ideas. In situations like this, he needed everything he could find to survive. However, he didn't want to argue with Christian either, so he decided to ingest the blood secretly.

Clearly, it had worked. Magically, he was only a step away from being a junior mage, but his skills had greatly improved when it came to the release and control of fireballs. Now, he could control about fifty fireballs at the same time. If he slashed at a fireball with a fire sword, it would take a dozen slashes for it to disappear.

Anfey suddenly felt something and distinguished the fireballs one by one. He stretched his body and covered the young unicorn with a blanket.

After a few seconds, the door was pushed open. A shadow came into the room and walked quietly up to the bed.

Anfey waved his hand and lit the candle on the table with a fireball. With the help of the candlelight, two pairs of eyes met. One was cold, and the other calm. One serious, the other clear. Anfey did not try to cover his face, and the other man had covered everything except for his eyes. After a few moments they both moved their eyes away.

"So you are the one that asked for me," he said.

Anfey took a breath, and decided to get straight to the point. "You should know that Shansa Empire is attacking Maho, and that Tiger of Tawau is forming an alliance with Shansa through marriage, right?"

The man nodded, but did not say anything.

"We want to assassinate the princess."

The man nodded again, but remained silent.

"We need help," Anfey admitted.

"What kind?"

"Information. Lots of it."

"Keep going."

"I need to know what kind of people will be on the escort team: a list, if you can. Mark every person of importance and anyone we need to look out for. How many horses will be present, how much dowry. I need the princess's portrait, and if she was a mage or a swordsman, and how powerful she is. If possible, the portraits of people of importance as well. Also, how many maids she brought, and if any of those maids are powerful enough to be a threat." Anfey stopped for a moment before continuing, "I also need to know how much road they can cover in a day after leaving Shansa, where they are stopping, and the geography of their route; as well as an estimate of how long it will take for them to reach this city, the welcome ceremonies in the different cities, and where their supplies are coming from."

The man stared at Anfey's face. "Alright," he said.

"Some other things. The princess's personality and history, and her preferences in food and clothing. People she likes, people she dislikes."

"Anything else?"

"I also need to know more about what the Tiger of Tawau is doing, where they are keeping the princess, where they will greet her, and the size of the ceremony," Anfey said. "I heard the mercenary's first wife was a female elf slave and had nine children. All of them powerful. I don't want to wait until after the wedding to go through with the plan.

"The princess's living quarters should have already been settled, but furnishing takes time. If possible, I want you to give me the floor plan of the room as well."

"You must realize it is almost impossible to gather all of this information," the man said.

"Give me as much as you can," Anfey said, smiling. "I will take care of the rest. Do you remember everything I've said?"

"You need not to worry about my memory," the man said. "Are you certain about the plan?" He had originally thought it was just a group of children trying to play hero, and wanted to dissuade them. He wanted to make them give up their goals, and then he would escort them back to Maho Empire. If they disagreed, he would take Niya and leave the rest.

After talking with Anfey, however, he realized they were serious. Anfey had thought of everything he had thought of, and that shocked him. After all, he was one of the best spies from Maho, and Anfey was only an apprentice.

"The Shansa caravans have encountered some trouble on their way here, though I am not sure what. My men are looking into it, and they need seven days to get here. I will give you the information after that."

"No, no. Three days," Anfey said. "I need to prepare as well."

"It's impossible," the man said, shaking his head. He did not realize it, but it sounded as if he was speaking to a friend.

"Three days," Anfey said. "That is as much time as I can give."

"Fine," the man said. "I will try everything I can. How sure are you?" He now saw Anfey as a leader, and a brilliant one at that. His mind combined with the senior swordsman...perhaps they had a chance.

"Too early for any predictions. We will meet again in three days."

"Alright."

Just then, another shadow appeared outside the room. "My lord," it said.

"Clark, did you already finish packing?" the man asked, frowning.

"Yes, my lord," Clark said nervously.

"Clark, why are you packing?" Anfey asked, though he had already formulated an answer for himself.

Clark opened his mouth a few times but did not say anything. The other man answered for him. "Clark is leaving," he said. "The tavern will get a new owner. If you want to look for me, talk to the new man."

"Listen. I am young, and so are my friends. We'd prefer a familiar face," Anfey said. "I want to still contact you through Clark, since we are already familiar." He knew Clark would be punished because his identity had been compromised. He felt responsible for the situation, and wanted to help Clark.

The man narrowed his eyes. Clearly Anfey's excuses were not convincing enough, and he realized he was trying to help Clark.

He did not care if the secret spies had worked together with someone, but he did not want outsiders to interfere with his organization. He stared at Anfey coldly.

"Either way, the situation benefits you," Anfey said, smiling. "If we fail, your men will not be affected. If we succeed, you will be given credit for our success. I will keep Niya here, if that is what you're worried about. She will not be involved in this."

The man was silent for a few moments, and his gaze softened. "I will come back in three days," he said. Then he turned and left, brushing past Clark without looking at him.

Clark sighed in relief, knowing he had just escaped his fate. "Thank you a lot, Anfey," he said gratefully.

"I was the one that caused this. You did not blame me for causing you trouble, and there is no need to thank me," Anfey replied.

Chapter 95: Coming Out of the Room

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

For the next three days, Anfey did not come out of his room at all. Niya had to take care of the little unicorn for him. Christian and others thought Anfey had dedicated himself to practicing magic. The non-stop magic surges from his room were the evidence. They did not go and bother him.

Christian thought Anfey would exhaust himself from the nonstop practice. Before he decided to check on Anfey on evening of the the third day, Anfey had already come out of his room. Christian was only seven or eight steps away from Anfey's room when he saw Anfey show up at the door of his room. He was surprised and hurried over to Anfey. "Anfey, are you alright?"

"I am good." Anfey looked reenergized. It seemed that his magic skills had improved a lot.

"Anfey, don't practice magic this way next time. Don't you remember what you have told me about alternating…?" Christian said.

"Alternating work and relaxation is the key to learning." Anfey smiled.

"Right, I meant to say that," Christian said sincerely. If he had known Anfey had drunk a small bottle of unicorn blood, he would have been very mad. Sometimes it was good to be ignorant.

"Anything happen in the past few days?" Anfey asked.

"Everybody followed your orders and no one went out. Hmm, Vonmerge should have a lot of information. He came by several times. He saw you in training so he did not interrupt you," Christian said.

"Did Hui Wei behave for the past few days? Did he try to escape?" Anfey asked.

"He has been good. His Dimensional Ring is with you. How could he escape without the ring? I bet there is a lot more good stuff in it. Maybe the secret of the Magic Forbidden Field is in it." Christian smiled. Hui Wei looked painful when he had to give away the Scroll of Temporal Teleportation. How could a poor guy with both magic and combat powers, who had to work with orcs, have a such valuable magic scroll? It inevitably made people wonder about his identity, where he was from, and the secrets in his Dimensional Ring.

With Anfey's temperament, if Hui Wei had told Anfey his secrets, he felt there was a good chance Anfey would kill him. Hui Wei was very smart. Generally, he did whatever he was asked to do. He never challenged Anfey nor caused any trouble for Anfey's legion. He had behaved well, but never opened his mouth about the secrets of the Magic Forbidden Field.

Yet at that time, even if Hui Wei had told Anfey the secret of the Magic Forbidden Field, Anfey would not have killed him. Nobody knew how many secrets he held onto. Anfey would not want to kill him before he could get all the secrets out of Hui Wei.

Anfey heard someone walking upstairs. It was Suzanna walking upstairs with Shally. Today Suzanna did not wear leather armor. She wore a white dress. The dress was a little bit below her knees. The clear and delicate skin of her lower legs showed. She wore a pair of boots made of flash leopard. The black shoe ties on the boots wrapped around her lower legs. She looked sexy with those black shoelaces. Suzanna also had a little bit of makeup on. She looked so adorable with the long and thick eyelashes. She looked at Shally with a warm smile. Her gold earrings sparkled in her black shiny hair.

Suzanna looked feminine, but everyone knew the power hidden underneath this feminine appearance.

Under normal conditions, it would only take one or two years to make a name for herself. There would be people wanting her to be her aides. She was already a senior swordswoman even before she was twenty years old. No one would doubt that she would be a master swordswoman someday. She had reached to a level that many people could not reach in their whole life. People knew she would become a master swordswoman someday, but the question would be how many more years it would take her.

Anfey knew he was lucky to get to know Saul and Ernest after he came to this world. He was also fortunate to know Suzanna.

"Anfey, you finally came out." Suzanna smiled.

"Brother Anfey, take it." Shally held a hot dessert in front of her.

"I am not hungry yet. You can have it, Shally." Anfey caressed Shally's head. This was a way to get Suzanna to like him. If he touched Suzanna's head, she probably would have punched him. Shally was so much easier to maneuver.

Anfy had been the one caring about Shally the most, sometimes even more than her sister since Shally joined Anfey's legion. He read stories to Shally, played games with her, and even "shamelessly" challenged her with magic powers. Shally did not have strong desire to win. She was happy if someone would play with her. It did not matter to her whether she was winning. To Shally, practicing magic with Anfey was a game. She was not as serious as Anfey, who wanted to see who was better with magic power.

Anfey did not know why he glanced at Suzanna's legs. He did look at other places right away. "What a shame. It would be perfect with a pair of high heels and shorter skirt," Anfey thought to himself.

Suzanna was a senior swordswoman. It was not difficult for her to catch Anfey glancing at her legs, even though he looked away quickly. Suzanna looked down at her own legs and then she blushed.

Most times, people could not forget something even though they tried. Every time when Anfey saw Suzanna's skin showing, or even heard Niya asking her to take a bath, he could not help thinking of that night with Suzanna. Sometimes he would secretly glanced at Suzanna. Suzanna was even worse than Anfey. Every time she saw Anfey smiling, she would think about that night. There was no one to blame, since Anfey's smile had never changed. The angle he pulled his mouth and the number of teeth he showed were always the same. It seemed that he wore a mask, and his facial expression would never change. When she had been caught by him that night, he gave her the same kind of smile. Later when they formed a legion, he smiled the same way when they discussed issues for the legion. Suzanna could not help thinking about that night. She had developed a conditioned response.

From a psychological point of view, to get rid of this conditioned response, it would have been better for her to be away from Anfey. If she did not see Anfey's smiles, she would forget about it in few years. However, there could be another possibility: If Suzanna kept recalling Anfey's smiles, this psychological barrier could get worse.

"Suzanna, I have made your leather armor. Huh, Anfey, you are here." Anfey heard Hagan talking behind him and then he asked, "Where is my stuff?"

"Wait a second." Hagan tucked his head back to the room and walked out of the room a minute later with a package in his hand.

Anfey gently opened the package. There were almost a hundred arrowheads. About twenty of them were thick and snowy white. They were made of manticore's teeth. The rest of the arrow heads were comparatively smaller and light blue. They were made of wyverns' teeth. Anfey knew these arrows were quite powerful. The former arrowheads could explode, and the latter ones were poisonous and could kill anyone unless that person carried the detoxing medicine made from wyvern's gallbladders.

These arrowheads were great, but they were all disposable and a hundred of them were far from enough. Anfey put the arrowheads in his Dimensional Ring and then he grabbed a knife. Maybe it should not be called a knife anymore. It looked more like an awl because it did not have any blades. It could only be used to thrust, not slay. The tip of the knife looked very sharp. Anfey touched it with his finger.

"Don't…" Hagan screamed.

Hagan reminded Anfey a little too late. Anfey felt the pain on his finger. His finger was cut by the knife and then he felt an unusual feeling. His blood circulation and heartbeat slowed down. He felt chest pain, exhaustion, dizziness. He could not even move any of his fingers. These were symptoms of paralysis.

Suddenly, Anfey felt something different. The spirit crystal in his chest started to tremble. Anfey knew well that it was fighting with the paralysis. In about five seconds, the symptoms of paralysis disappeared and the spirit crystal calmed down. It seemed nothing had happened.

"It's so wasteful!" Hagan shouted. "I have changed the properties of the knife and increased the rate of paralysis, but it also shortens the lifespan of the knife. You shouldn't have tested it on yourself. Every time you use the knife, its lifespan will get shorter."

"What is the rate of paralysis?" Anfey felt rejuvenated. He thought he was lucky to have a knife with such a strong paralyzing effect. He gave credit to Hagan.

"About eighty percent, or even higher, but it could only be used 30 times at most. You just wasted one." Hagan rolled his eyes. He was not too happy with Anfey wasting his product.

"Great, wonderful!" Anfey looked happy. He patted Hagan's shoulder forcefully.

Christian and others looked at Anfey in surprise, because Anfey used to have only three facial expressions: frown, calm and smile. They all had different meanings. This time Anfey seemed he had lost himself. This was their first time to see him losing himself.

They did not know how much eighty percent paralyzing effect meant to Anfey. It meant that he could kill twenty tough opponents. Hagan had helped Anfey with his biggest problem. How could he not be happy? He had taken the tears of stars for a while, which had gradually changed Anfey's personality in an unnoticeable way. Anfey used to hide his emotions well, but this time he lost himself a little bit.

Chapter 96: A Joke

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Your Majesty, here is what you asked me to look for," a shadow said. He appeared in front of Yolanthe and handed him a scroll.

"You've always been amazingly fast," Yolanthe said, smiling. He took the scroll and began reading. As he read on, his smile slowly disappeared. In the end, he was frowning, and tossed the scroll down on the table with a single word, "Bastard!"

"I agree, Your Majesty," the shadow said.

"The poor girl," Yolanthe said, shaking his head. Had he been twenty years younger, he would surely swear to avenge her, and send in his own men to correct the wrong. After twenty years of court intrigues and political struggles, he found himself numb to injustices like this. He rarely used words like "bastard" anymore.

"I did not find her teacher, Your Majesty. However, I think anyone that could train a young girl to be a senior swordsman is someone to be reckoned with."

"Stop the research. It is not necessary anymore. As long as Suzanna stays with Niya, we will have two powerful allies."

"Then…Your Majesty, should I do something about the Duchy of Gus? Surely Suzanna would want to return for revenge. If we help her, we can earn her allegiance."

"No," Yolanthe said calmly. "You know Entos? He was born in the Country of Mercenaries, but why would he fight for us?"

"Because he studied under Master Saul."

"So do we need to gain his allegiance?"

"Of course not," the shadow said. He was, of course, the leader of the empire's spies. He understood Yolanthe immediately.

"It is impossible to control everything and everyone," Yolanthe told him. "We need to prioritize our goals. If we earn Suzanna's loyalty, it may not affect Anfey. If we get Anfey's loyalty, then Suzanna will be influenced, as well. We need to accomplish the most with the least amount of work."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"Tell Black Eleven that he needs to cooperate with that group, and keep them safe no matter what. Especially Anfey. I am very interested in him."

"Your Majesty, the southern front just sent their fifth plea for help. Anfey is assassinating Shansa's princess. Shouldn't we focus on the southern front?"

"This is all I can do," Yolanthe said. "Destroying Ellisen's Dark Moon Legion is our utmost priority, and I will do anything to achieve that."

Yolanthe had his own troubles as well. His lie was so successful that it had fooled everyone, including Shansa Empire. Otherwise Shansa would never have broken the nonaggression pact and invaded Maho. It had hurt Yolanthe to think his allies were so unreliable, but he had to keep going with the plan, or else everything he had done so far would go to waste.

"Another thing, Your Majesty. People from the Mist are especially interested in Anfey and his group. They've always been active in the Country of Mercenaries. They will catch on eventually. Should we warn them?"

"Yes. Another thing Black Eleven should do. Tell Black Twelve to go, as well. The Mist shouldn't make any move if they are there."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Someone knocked on Anfey's door.

"Come in," Anfey said. His dagger spun around a few more times in his hand before disappearing into his sleeve.

"Anfey, our man wants to see you," Clark said, poking his head into the room.

"Alright," Anfey said. "Let's go."

Anfey had known a bit about the rules and organization of the secret spies. His job was similar to that of a spy's. He knew what he should ask and what he should not, and when to keep quiet. So he sat in the carriage with his eyes closed and did not even move to gaze out the window.

Clark sat next to him nervously. He was afraid Anfey would ask things he should not ask, and that he could get in trouble for answering. Anfey had saved him from punishment last time, so it felt wrong to lie to Anfey or not answer a question. Of course, Clark was only in charge of communication and was not a full-fledged spy.

Anfey did not open his eyes until the carriage stopped. "We're there?" he asked.

"Yes," Clark said as he got off of the carriage.

The carriage had stopped in front of a large courtyard. It was quiet and appeared abandoned. Weeds grew out of the cracks in the pavement, and there were piles of rocks around the yard. They shined dimly under the moonlight.

Across the yard was a large building. A black clad man was standing there, looking at Anfey.

"Have you gathered everything I need?"

"It is impossible, I have already told you," the man said, frowning. What Anfey needed was too extensive, and there was no way any organization could find all of it in three days.

"Get as much as you can," Anfey said, stepping into the building. "This is where the princess will live?"

"Yes. I have notes throughout the building."

The house was only a model. If a real princess was to stay in the city, her living quarters would be much more lavish than this. There was a broken, dirty bed in the room with a piece of paper on it. Clearly it was a note the man spoke of.

Near the bed was a nightstand, and near the door was a round table with four chairs around it. To the left was a large wardrobe, and to the right was a wooden rack for decorations.

There were two sticks on the wall labelled "light," and the ceiling had a circle drawn on it to represent another light. The ground was labelled redwood floor.

This obviously was a very crude version of the actual house, but Anfey studied it carefully. He bent down and studied the bed carefully. He then turned to the man and said, "Is this bed the same height as the princess's?"

"I am not certain," the man said. "Why?"

"Not good enough," Anfey said, shaking his head. "Do you have assassins under you?"

"The best in the world."

"What a joke," Anfey said.

"What do you mean?" the man asked coldly. He had always prided himself in his self control, but even the best would get aggravated.

Anfey did not reply. He circled the room a few more times, then turned to the man. "Give me a stake," he said.

The man waved his hand, and in a few minutes he handed a stake to Anfey.

Anfey placed the stake on the bed and took a strip of fabric. He tied the fabric to the stake and stared at it for a few moments before turning and leaving the room.

The man did not know what Anfey was doing but followed him anyway.

Anfey walked about fifty feet before stopping and taking a deep breath. He leaped into the air with a bow in his hand. As he began descending, he started to draw the string open. When he landed, the bow string was already drawn to its fullest. He released the string, and the arrow flew towards the building.

The arrow hit the wall with a loud thud and made a large hole in it. When Suzanna released the wind arrow the day they had discovered the bow, the arrow was strong enough to break the wall of the cave. It was much more powerful than the wind arrows released by mages. If he could pair the wind arrow with an actual arrow, it would be double the power of the bow.