116 - 125

Chapter 116: Caravan

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

Daylight arrived at last. The situation in Blackwater City had calmed down significantly. People returned to their normal daily routines. Merchants returned to tending their businesses, and mercenaries returned to completing their missions. Normal people's lives were not directly impacted by the night's events, Except for the fact that the place Glory mercenary group's camp once stood was now a flat land, Blackwater City was unchanged. This was a show of Mourtta and Hortchbini's power.

As he was observing the situation, Anfey couldn't help but feel anxious. He knew his own limits very well. He could cause chaos in the city, but it wasn't guaranteed that he would benefit from this chaos. He might even lead all his companions to their doom. He had too little to offer, and didn't even qualify for sitting at the gambling table. Judging from the current situation, the biggest winner would be Mourta, not him.

Anfey didn't know, and neither did Yolanthe, that envoys from Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire had already met. Because of the news from Blackwater City, the envoys had a disagreement. The treaties they discussed before were worthless because of this argument as well. Ellisen and Shansa wanted to split Maho Empire equally, so their strength would grow at a similar rate and maintain a balance. After what happened in Blackwater, however, they had to reconsider their empires' futures. After they divided Maho Empire, whoever controlled the Country of Mercenaries would be the master of the land.

After three days of absolute silence, Ellisen Empire reacted. They claimed that Anthony's wife had fallen ill and sent out a team to take care of her. This team's combined power was higher than the team Shansa sent out to escort the princess. At the head of the team was archmage Mike, and it consisted of eight senior swordsmen and four thousand experienced soldiers. However, it was questionable whether they could reach White Mountain City successfully. Geographically, Blackwater City was closer to Ellisen Empire and White Mountain City was closer to Shansa. Like Shansa's team must pass White Mountain City, Ellisen's team must pass the city that had just became ensnarled in the hands of Shansa Empire and Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. Mourtta and Hotchbini would never let them through easily. Thinking from the other's point of view, Shansa was worried that Anthony would do something as they passed, which was why their team was so large.

After Yolanthe learned about this, he sent a message to Blackwater and gave Anfey the title of "baron."

Anfey didn't care about the noble title. He observed the situation for a few more days, and discovered that the city had approached the point where it had became more tense inside the city than outside. He knew that Mourtta and Hortchbini meant to control the entire city. Being strangers to the city, Anfey knew they would draw attention very soon.

Anfey spoke with Black Eleven and decided to temporarily leave the city. What surprised him was that Black Eleven handed his work in the city off to another men and decided to leave with them. This meant that he was very interested in his team, which meant the higher ups were, too.

The group left the city very easily with credentials provided by Black Eleven. They had received a new name as well: Alibaba mercenary. The group wasn't sure who or what Alibaba was, but they trusted Anfey and therefore did not argue against the name.

The road between the two cities was not in the best condition. Even though twenty years had been spent fixing it, an era like this was still lacking technologically. As Anfey sat in the cart, his body shook with the rhythm of the carriage. The young unicorn sat by his feet, its silver head raised and light blue eyes scanning its surroundings. It didn't appear sad at all, and if it could waggle its tail like a dog, it would look like a little pug.

Suzanna, Niya, and Shally sat in the same carriage,but not because Anfey had planned it that way. Both Suzanna and Niya had requested to sit with him, since the road was long and playing with the unicorn was a way to pass the time.

The road was full of carriages heading to White Mountain City, and only a few headed towards Blackwater City. Clearly people were still unsure what Mourtta's next step would be. Whether they were merchants or mercenaries making their livings completing missions or hunting for crystals, everyone wanted to live in a relatively peaceful place.

Some caravans traveled fast, some slow. Anfey wanted to let his friends relax a bit, and so their carriages traveled the slowest. In the end, only one merchant's caravan from Gruce Principality remained close to their carriages. The two caravans had gotten familiar with each other after a few days of traveling.

After they had set up camp for the night, Anfey left his own camp and headed towards the camp of the merchants. After learning that the merchants were from Gruce Principality, Suzanna became visibly upset, and often appeared to be in a daze. Whenever Anfey tried to talk to her, it would take him several tries to gain her attention. He would lose her attention again after a few sentences. Anfey felt that he needed to learn more about the principality. One day they would go there and help Suzanna take back what was hers.

It was a slave owner's caravan. When Anfey walked into the camp, the merchants were unloading their merchandise. The ones what were cramped into smaller carts were women over the age of thirty. The girls and children's treatment was better, since they would sold for a better price.

Anfey had always associated slaves with inhumane treatment and torture. After seeing them in person, he realized that it wasn't entirely true. The older women were treated terribly, but the younger girls all had colorful clothing. There were four artists in the caravan to apply their makeup, and two teachers to teach them how to act properly. The girls must learn how to walk like ladies of noble birth. Whoever failed to do so would be punished. Not whipping, of course. If the punishment left a mark on the slave, there would be a price to pay. There were two senior mages there as well who were responsible for bathing and cleaning the women.

The slaves all appeared healthy and radiant, but it wasn't hard to ignore the confusion and deep rooted fear in their eyes. They knew that even though they were dressed up beautifully, they were still cargo and not people.

Christian looked at the caravan with disgust. He hated business like this, but he knew that as long as there was war, there would be slaves. Males would become workers, working the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs. The females could make up some debts. Wars cost money, and those in power would not miss any chance to pay their debts.

It didn't matter what his ideas were: Christian could declare war on the entire continent, but he could not destroy the current system just by himself. Smarter men would try to ignore everything, while the kind ones would try to help the unfortunate. For the entire world, however, it wasn't worth much.

"My lord! Can't believe you found time to come around here," the leader of the caravan, Ahab, walked over and said with a smile.

"Thought I would walk around to pass the time," Anfey said.

"Interested in picking one up?" Ahab winked at him. "Be at rest, my lord. I won't charge you extra. We're all friends here, and I don't do that to friends."

Anfey's eyes swept over the slaves, and he shook his head. "They're too average," he said. "Not interested." It was an excuse. Even if he was interested, he wouldn't try to purchase any of them. Surely his companions would react badly. Especially Niya and Suzanna. Who knows how they would react?

His words made Ahab slightly upset. "Come this way, my lord," he said.

Anfey walked with Ahab to a lavishly decorated carriage. Ahab yanked on the fabric that covered the carriage and pulled it off. "How about them?" he asked proudly.

There were only four women in the cart. It seemed like their treatment was even better than the young girls'. They all had light green hair with tall nose bridges and pointy ears. Even their proud and distant expressions were the same.

"Elves?"

"What do you say, my lord?"

Anfey glanced at the women's wrists. They all wore expensive antimagic bracelets. Clearly they could all fight. "I don't like elves. They all look the same and it's not interesting enough."

"They certainly are not all the same. Look at her eyes."

"Their expressions are all the same."

Ahab sighed. If it had been anyone else, he would think they were bluffing, and only saying they weren't interested because they could afford the price. He was speaking with someone who had two junior magisters as companions, and he knew Anfey could afford it.

"I have another one," Ahab said. "Way better than the elves, I assure you, but I must warn you. She is insane."

"Insane?"

Chapter 117: Evil

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

"Yes," Ahab said with sympathy.

"Do you mean her temper is still hot or…?

Ahab shook his head. "She has some mental problems. She said she was Shansa Empire's princess and claimed to sentence me to death. It was ridiculous."

Anfey had always been calm but he could not help being shocked at that moment. Ahab was squinting his eyes, feeling sorry for that "nut." He did not see Anfey's look, otherwise he would have been able to tell something from it.

Christian had been following after Anfey. He did not know the whole story. Seeing Anfey zoning out, he secretly touched Anfey's arm.

Anfey snapped out of it. "Where did you meet that nut?"

"We bought those girls from Shansa Empire's military." Ahab's eyes shone.

Anfey could tell Ahab was lying with just one glance. With the information he had, the princess of Shansa Empire must have fled and crossed Ahab's business route. Ahab must have seen a lonely, beautiful girl in the deserted prairie and wanted to catch her. He would be happy no matter whether he sold her or kept her for himself.

"My bro, I remember you said you have tried to sell female slaves in Blackwater City for two days. Didn't anyone want to buy that nut?" Anfey smiled.

"Master Anfey, you must be kidding. The third oldest son of Saidy in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group is getting married to the princess of Shansa Empire. The princess is in Blackwater City now. I could not let that nut get on the stage. She would yell that she was the princess of Shansa Empire on the stage. If Tiger of Tawau mercenaries heard about it, they would stop my business. I am just a merchant. I do not dare to offend them," Ahab said, smiling.

Anfey did not know whether he should laugh or cry. After the wagon route noticed the princess had fled, they must have searched for her everywhere. After they failed to find her, they must have replaced the princess with another girl to cover it. The upper class in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group must have known about it, since Saidy acted very weirdly.

If Anfey calculated right, Ahab's merchant caravan must have reached Blackwater City a day earlier than the princess's caravan. The princess's wagons had been searching everywhere without knowing their princess was in Ahab's merchant caravan. The upper class in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group would never think their princess had become a slave. Failing to see the princess by a narrow chance made a huge difference. It must be a joke played by God.

"Did you say that nut was a lot better than elves?" Anfey squinted his eyes to leer at the "nut." Only squinting his eyes could accentuate his dirty mind.

"Of course!" Ahab nodded. "What do you think, Master Anfey. Are you interested in her?"

"Let me take a look first." Anfey smiled.

A few elves were sitting in a fancy wagon while the poor "nut," covered by a canvas, stood in a cage which was only big enough for a person to stand up in. When Ahab took the canvas off her, a pretty girl appeared in front of Anfey.

Suddenly, Anfey did not have the words to describe this girl. Stunning? But she was not like a vulgar rose, rather an angel. Beautiful? A little subjective. The word "beautiful" was not enough to describe the girl in front of him. Pretty? She had a young girl's appearance to her. She gave out a different and indescribable feeling. She also looked energetic.

She had a full forehead and a pair of bright and innocent eyes. This kind of eyes made men have the desire to win her heart over. Her nose pointed slightly upwards, which made her look naughty. Her lips were small and pink: a natural pink color, not flower-juice-dyed redness. They looked so alluring. She was not extremely beautiful if just judging by her face, but she gave people a unspeakable feeling. Even calm as Anfey was, his eyes were brightened up for a second when he saw her.

The princess squinted her eyes when the bright light suddenly hit her, and then she looked into the distance. It looked like she did not even see Anfey and the others.

Her bun was messy, and she only wore a light blue denim dress which only country girls wore. She did not wear any shoes. Her toes and lower legs were fair and silky, but they were trembling. Anfey knew it was because she had stood in the cage for a long time. Her bones were reaching to their limits to support her weight.

Anfey glanced at Ahab and wondered if the denim dress made Ahab neglect other things on this girl, or Ahab wanted a good price for this beautiful girl, or even Ahab was drowning in her beauty. Ahab neglected something he should not have neglected.

Her silky skin alone should be enough to prove she was not a country girl.

"Master Anfey, do you like her?" Ahab waved his hand. A bodyguard walked over with a bucket of water. Ahab took over the bucket and poured it on the girl. He laughed obnoxiously, "You can see it more clearly this way."

Water had wet the girl's body. The denim dress stuck tightly to her skin. Two black spots showed on her chest. Her breasts, crotch, and even her butt showed clearly in front of everyone.

Anfey looked first at her face instead of at her body. It was weird that she did not scream, get angry, or get scared. That girl still stood there quietly, looking far away.

"How is it? Very clear, right?" Ahab obnoxiously smiled. He reached his hand out and touched her and squeezed her butt cheeks hard. That girl did not move her body to fight him. She looked down at Ahab and said, "You, ugly pig. I have told you that someday you will pay for what you have done to me." The reason she could talk so calmly under such conditions was unknown. Maybe it was because she had given up fighting or was angry to the point she did not care about anything.

"Pay what, tell me," Ahab laughed weirdly. He even touched her breasts and rubbed her nipples with his fingers. In fact, only Ahab himself knew he felt uneasy every time when this girl talked to him in a calm voice. He had to act more relentlessly to give himself confidence. He had decided he would take her to his bed tonight if Anfey did not want to buy her. After sleeping with her for a couple of nights, he would bury her somewhere. He did not want to have those uneasy feelings anymore.

The girl seemed to sense his uneasiness. She knew fighting and struggling only could make him feel proud of what he had done. She stayed still. She held on to the metal cage so tight that her knuckles had turned white.

"How much is she? I will buy her." Anfey did not want this obnoxious drama to continue. He had made a quick decision to buy her. If that woman is a beautiful flower, then Ahab actually was just a pig trying to ruin the flower. He looked so disgusting.

"Hahaha, Master Anfey, I knew you would buy her once you see her." Ahab rubbed his hands with excitement. "I do not make much from you. Ok. Two hundreds gold coins. I bought her for one hundred and ninety gold coins. She's been drinking and eating for the past few days. She cost me pretty a lot."

That girl did not even bother to tell Anfey about Ahab's lie. No one would believe what she said under these circumstances. She could only keep quiet.

"Deal. Let her out," Anfey said, smiling.

"Sure, sure." Ahab was so happy. He nodded and few bodyguards walked up and pulled the woman out of the cage. Of course, those guys took the opportunity to touch her all over.

"Master Anfey, she is yours now." Ahab smiled. He reached his hand out and grabbed her butt again. He was worried when he could not sell her. Once she was sold, Ahad did not want to let her go. What kind of person was he?

The girl suddenly turned around and punched Ahab in the eye. Ahab never thought a woman who never showed any violence would attack him. He was just a businessman and could not take such a punch. He immediately put his hand over his eye and screamed. His bodyguards got mad. One of them grabbed the girl's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Anfey sneered. Christian stepped next to Anfey. He had seen too much up to that point and would not mind showing off what he could do.

"Wait." Ahab yelled immediately. Ahab knew the rules of purchase. Once Anfey agreed to buy the female slave, they did not have any right to hit her.

"Two hundred and ten gold coins. Bro, those ten extra gold coins are for you to see doctors," Anfey said calmly.

Ahab was shocked for a second. He looked regretful. When he asked for two hundred for the girl, he had been prepared to accept Anfey's bargaining. Who would think Anfey did not care about the price? He had figured Anfey had money, but did not think he would have that much money. If being hit on the eye could make him ten gold coins, geeze, he wished that "nut" could have hit him more.

"Where is Isis?" the girl suddenly asked.

"Who is Isis?" Anfey was shocked by her question.

"Master Anfey, Isis is her companion," Ahab answered quietly. His hand was still covering his eye. Obviously, the punch was pretty hard.

"Where is she?" Anfey asked. "Since I already bought her, I do not mind buying another one."

"She is at…" Ahab hesitated a bit and said, "She is with mercenaries."

Chapter 118: Power of Money

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

Christian closed his eyes slowly. He thought he had already seen some of the ugliest things in the caravan camp, but now he knew he was wrong.

Anfey, on the other hand, was not affected. He already knew what to expect when he saw a mercenary walking out of the tent pulling his pants up and wearing a satisfied expression on his face.

A repulsive scene was revealed. A woman was on the ground, her arms fell next to her body. Her wrists were slashed. Her legs were wide apart, and there were large wounds on the inside of her knees. Anfey narrowed his eyes. He was very familiar with human anatomy and knew that whoever did this to the woman was very cruel. The woman must have been powerful enough to be a threat, but the mercenaries didn't want to use any antimagic bracelets and instead resorted to the most primal and painful way to weaken her.

The woman must have been beautiful once, but an ugly scar on the right side of her face had destroyed her beauty. Perhaps that was why Ahab abandoned her to this fate. A mercenary was thrusting into the woman and looked like he was about to reach the peak of happiness. He was completely unaware of the new parties in the tent.

The princess suddenly let out a heart-wrenching wail. She jumped forward and leaped onto the mercenary, beating him with her fists, trying to get him away from her friend. The mercenary shoved her aside and the princess fell to the ground. She was only a junior mage, and not in the best physical shape. She was no match for a mercenary.

"Christian, get him away from her," Anfey instructed.

Christian hesitated. If he could unleash his full power, he would not hesitate in doing so. He was fully capable of killing the mercenary in the blink of an eye. However, his mind was telling him to hold back. His was a newly found mercenary group, the other was an established merchant's caravan. Both sides exist legally. If he killed someone, his group would attract attention and could become wanted criminals.

Christian released a wind blade that hit the mercenary on the leg. The mercenary screamed. He jumped up and grabbed his longsword.

Mercenaries were very aware of their surroundings. A few moments after the mercenary screamed, a group of mercenaries already surrounded the tent. "Don't worry, don't worry," Ahab explained hurriedly. "We're all friends. No enemies here!"

The leader of the mercenaries was a man with a thick beard. He looked at his wounded companion, then turned his gaze to Anfey and Christian. He narrowed his eyes in malice, but did not act. The two parties had been traveling alongside each other for a few days and had some understanding of each other's power.

The mercenaries didn't know about Suzanna, or else they wouldn't have done anything, even if Christian had killed the man. They would keep their anger to themselves until they reached White Mountain City. The mercenaries knew there were mages in Alibaba mercenary group, with two of them being junior magisters. They were worried about the consequences.

"Make him shut up. I'll give you forty coins for him," Anfey said. He turned to Isis, and said, "I'll give you fifty for her. That's three hundred in total. Satisfied?"

"Of course, of course," Ahab said. He never expected the two women he had found to be so valuable. Normally, even if he had sold all his slaves, he still wouldn't make three hundred gold coins.

The bearded mercenary nodded and looked happy. He kicked the wailing mercenary and said, "Shut it." Money was undeniably powerful. It could buy obedience, friendship, and power. It could also turn foes into friends in seconds.

"My lord," Ahab said, smiling. "You know that the journey is tiring and they can't touch the other ones I have. The older ones aren't as much fun, so…"

"Yes, my lord," the bearded mercenary said. "That woman injured a few of our men. All they wanted to do was to have a little fun."

"I understand," Anfey said, smiling. "We're all men, aren't we?"

Christian was angry, but when he saw Anfey's smile, he felt relief. He knew that whenever Anfey smiled, it was a prelude to murder.

Ahab and the mercenaries laughed. They thought that Anfey was a good man. He didn't hesitate when making a move, and was very understanding.

The princess looked as if she couldn't understand what they were saying. She moved over to her friend and cradled the woman in her arms. Tears rolled down her face and fell onto the woman. Isis kept staring at the ceiling of the tent.

"Send someone to take her to my carriage. You come with me to get the money."

"Of course," Ahab replied.

The princess held Isis tightly in her arms and would not let go. The mercenaries didn't want to shove her aside, so they found a stretcher and carried both women with them. Ahab and the bearded mercenary followed Anfey closely.

Riska was organizing their camps. Seeing that Anfey and Christian had returned with men he did not know, he walked over and looked at him curiously.

"Riska, go find our money chest with Feller."

"What?"

Christian looked at Riska and nodded. The latter hurried off to go find Feller. Suzanna was talking with Niya inside the carriage. She heard his voice and asked, "Anfey, what's wrong?" She reach out to pull the curtain back.

"Stay inside," Anfey said loudly.

Suzanna's hand, which was already out of the carriage, froze and quickly disappeared again. It was just a glance, but Ahab and the mercenary could tell the hand looked very small and soft, very similar to the princess's. A woman with hands like that shouldn't be too ugly.

"You…" Niya called out, angered by Anfey's attitude. She didn't say anything else after that, clearly stopped by Suzanna.

"Be quiet. Can't you tell? My lord is angry," Suzanna said softly.

"What lord…" Niya said, but she fell silent again.

Ahab and the mercenary glanced at each other. They now knew that there was another woman in the carriage, and that Anfey must have been a noble who thought it would be fun to be a mercenary.

Anfey had always admired Suzanna. Seeing that she cooperated with him so seamlessly, he thought even more highly of her.

Anfey glanced at Ahab and knew that they did not notice whether anything was off.

Riska and Feller returned. Riska stopped the levitation spell, and the chest fell to the group. It was apparent that the chest was very heavy.

Anfey opened the chest. Light bounced off of the gold coins inside and shone brilliantly, coating everything around it in a soft gold. Anfey didn't care for it, but people Ahab brought with him all stood there, stunned.

The chest was full of coins. For people like Ahab, there was nothing more beautiful than that.

"Feller, get me three hundred coins," Anfey said.

Feller walked over and counted three hundred exactly. He put them all in a pouch and handed the heavy bag to Anfey.

When Feller was counting the coins, the people accompanying Ahab all stood there, staring. Their bodies were shaking, and if the gold coins were edible, they would have devoured them.

"Three hundred coins," Anfey said, raising his voice. "You want to count it?"

Ahab turned around and looked as if he had just woken from a pleasant dream. He took the heavy pouch, a muscle on his face twitching slightly.

"Count it," Anfey said, smiling.

"No, no need for that," Ahab said, smiling awkwardly.

"If there are any other good ones, save them for me, eh?"

"Of course, of course."

"Alright," Anfey said, waving his hands. "We're done, then."

"We'll be on our way," Ahab said. He elbowed the mercenary, who mumbled something and nodded.

Chapter 119: Smart Enough to Be Omniscient

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

"Anfey, what are you doing this for?" Christian asked quietly while watching Ahab and his merchant fleet hurrying away.

"Nothing. I just wanted to find a legal opportunity to kill someone," Anfey sneered. The money Anfey paid to Ahab gave him the opportunity to kill a person. Suzanna had not shown up yet. With only two junior magisters at the scene, they were not able to have control of the situation, especially when it was getting dark. As everyone knew, mages' fighting abilities would get affected at night, which would give Ahab a lot courage to fight them.

"They may not dare." Christian had already known what Anfey would do.

"You take a close look at how they walk. What can you tell?" Anfey said with a pregnant pause.

Christian stared with his eyes wide, watching Ahab walking into the dark. He could not tell anything. "Maybe…nothing special."

"They walked away fast." There was a smile on Anfey's face. "Why did they hurry away? Did they hurry to hide those three hundred gold coins or rush to plan something big?"

Christian tried to recall, and remembered that the speed of Ahab and his merchant fleet's coming and going was quite different. The way they hurried away looked more like they were trotting. Christian heaved a sigh and looked at Anfey with admiration. "Anfey, I really do not know how to describe you in words. I think most people are not as good as you."

"Are you trying to say no one is as good as me?" Anfey smiled.

"Did you forget what you have promised me?" Christian curled his lips.

Anfey and Christian had been honest with each other. Christian had said clearly that he had some secrets that he could not tell Anfey. Anfey seemed ok with it. He never went after Christian for that reason. He only secretly tried to guess what Christian's secrets were as if he was playing a guessing game.

In fact, Anfey could already guess what Christian's secrets were. As he walked with Christian on the street, a wagon passed by them. A guy with a pair of bright and sophisticated eyes looked at them with a warm smile. Anfey knew he was an outsider in this magic world, and there was no way he would know that guy. Who was he smiling at? This was an easy question. By then Christian was quite shocked to see that guy and said without conscious thinking, "Why did he come?"

After Anfey persisted in asking, Christian told Anfey that the guy's name was Baery, the commander of Roaring Dead Legion, the most powerful legion in the empire. He was also a famous master swordsman. Christian asked Anfey to keep the secret for him. He told Anfey that Baery secretly going back to Saint City must have something to do with military secrets. It showed Christian that the guy must have a special identity.

It was totally different wording when Christian said "He's back" and "The commander is back." Even spoiled Niya called Ernest with a respectful title "Mr." or "Uncle". What did the "he" out of Christian's mouth mean?

Anfey was so smart that he could even be called omniscient. If Christian knew what Anfey was thinking, he would have called Anfey omniscient. He did not think Anfey could tell so much from just one word.

In fact, thinking about it more deeply, it was not that hard to guess the way Anfey did. If Anfey could tell Ahab and his merchant fleet were anxious and acted on impulse from their trots, of course he could guess Christian's secrets, even though they were unspoken.

Christian was quiet in thought for a while and suddenly smiled. "Anfey, it was not like you."

"What is not like me?" Anfey was confused for a second.

"If it were me, Blavi, or Riska seeing that scene, we probably would have fought with them, but you…" Christian said.

"What about me?" Anfey asked.

"You would never have gotten mad over two women. You are calm, way too calm. A few days ago, you proposed to assassinate the princess of Shansa Empire and ruin their political marriage. I was not so sure about your plan, but since it was good for the country. I did not say anything against it. Now you got mad over two women. Did these happen because of Tears of Stars," Christian said slowly.

"I would not get mad over two women, but I would do anything for hundreds of women," Anfey said.

"Bullsh*t." Christian rolled his eyes at Anfey.

"Haha, Christian. Think about what Ahab said. Where did he buy those female slaves?" Anfey asked.

"From Shansa Empire's military. Shansa Empire? Weren't they all supposed to be in this battle anyway?" Christian suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"Definitely," Anfey smiled.

"Are you sure you want to take risks for them?" Christian emphasized every word he asked.

"You are wrong. It is not taking a risk. It is assassination." Anfey strategically avoided Christian's question.

With the desire to be part of this magic world and become a powerful man, there were three necessities: capability, political power, and fame. Ahab had more than eighty slaves. If all the female slaves were saved, they would go back to their hometowns with gratitude towards Anfey when the war ended. There would be no doubt that they would tell others about Anfey's good deeds. Word would get around, and then Anfey would acquire some fame in those areas. Assassins needed both bright and dark lives and many more different identities. It was not contradictory with the need for the assassin to keep his real identity secret.

The fact that Anfey stirred up trouble between Tiger of Tawau and Glory mercenary groups needed to be kept secret, otherwise Anfey could be subject to brutal revenge. This story could be told in another book.

When one mercenary group violently attacked another one, the latter group had the right to fight back and was allowed to take over anything in the attacking group if the latter group won. This rule between mercenary groups was key for Anfey in making his plans. Anfey could take advantage of this rule to avoid some risks. This rule was originally made to punish those outlaws.

If Anfey initiated the fight and let anyone run away, Alibaba mercenary group would suffer from being on the wanted list. Even if Anfey could kill everyone in a merchant fleet and a mercenary group, a merchant fleet and a mercenary group disappearing would be a big news as well. The Country of Mercenaries valued catching gangs above all else, but they had no authority or ability to control whatever sh*tty things happened in the Forest of Death and Wild Prairie. They did care about the safety of the merchant fleets. Right then it was Tiger of Tawau mercenary group's turn to be in power. Hotchbini in the Tiger of Tawau mercenary group hated those gangs to the core. Even though she was busy with many other things in Blackwater City, she still spared time to investigate those gangs. Anfey did not lead a merchant fleet in a quiet way. It was not hard to find something fishy about his merchant fleet after the investigation.

If the other party attacked Anfey's merchant fleet first, the whole thing would be flipped. Anfey could wipe the other party out and legally take over everything that belonged to the other party. Anfey should be fine as long as he could give some unimportant people in that party to the mercenary union. In this magic world, if a person's level rose above swordsman and magister, he could have some ability to defend himself in court. Those unimportant people he sent to the mercenary union would be very easy to deal with. A horror magic would scare them to death, and they would open up and explain the whole thing from beginning to end.

"What are you talking about? What slaughter?" Suzannna asked in low voice. Niya and Suzanna had walked out of the wagon. Niya had the little guy in her arms. If Ahab saw the little unicorn, he could have passed out. Luckily, he did not have the chance to see it.

"You will know it soon." Anfey smiled. "Oh, right, there are two more women in our mercenary group."

"Women?" Niya frowned.

"Two poor women. You can ask Christian about any details. He can tell you a vivid story about it," Anfey said.

Vivid? Christian did not know whether he should cry or laugh. How could he tell this kind of story vividly? He would be dead if Niya misunderstood him.

Feller trotted over and said, "Anfey, I have settled those two women in the east-side tent. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?" Feller did not know the story of those two women. He was not sure whether he should be aware of them, watch them, or treat them as friends.

"Just be careful. Don't let them escape. Also, ask Blavi and Riska to come. I need talk to them." Anfey smiled. The possibility they could escape would be slim. He kept them in the tent just in case they wanted to escape. Isis had become crippled. The tendons on her knees were cut off. Walking had become a luxury to her. Seeing how the princess acted after she was bought by Anfey, she should not escape without Isis.

"I got it." Feller nodded.

"Feller, what do they look like? Are they pretty?" Niya asked loudly.

"Well, compared with the two of you, they are far less beautiful. Just regular girls," Feller said. He sounded pretty assuring. He totally forgot he had gasped when he had seen the princess for the first time.

"Oh, I see." Niya nodded. When she just turned around, she saw Christian trying to run away from the group. She called out immediately, "Hey, Christian, stop. You have to tell us the story. Why did Anfey say they were poor women? Tell us."

Christian stood there helplessly. He heaved a long sigh.

Anfey smiled. He took the little guy from Niya and went back to the wagon by himself. He had to admit Christian was a gentleman. Anfey wondered maliciously how a gentleman would not be able to tell a dirty story.

It was getting dark. Christian, Suzanna, Riska and Blavi ducked out of the wagon and then Anfey started to plan a battle. Although there was no doubt that they would win this battle, Anfey still wanted to be extremely careful about the safety of Niya and others.

Anfey leaned against the wall of the wagon and lifted the curtain to look out through a slit. There were more than ten little fire balls hovering above his palm. Those fire balls suddenly disappeared and then circled around Anfey with gusts. Maybe it was because of the unicorn blood or Anfey's strong telephathy, or even Anfey's hardwork in practice, the number of fire balls he was able to control had gone up dramatically. After he was able to control over two hundred fire balls, Anfey was trying to release another series of magic. These attempts had allowed him achieve more success.

Chapter 120: Fighting Practice

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

Through a crack in the curtains, Anfey spotted a shadow walking towards his carriage. It was dark outside, but he still recognized who was walking over. The wind blades around him disappeared.

The shadow stopped outside of the carriage, then pulled the curtains aside abruptly and jumped into the carriage, as if she couldn't do it unless she did it quickly.

Anfey looked at her. He was still leaning against the wall of the carriage, expressionless.

The princess seemed very nervous. She weaved her fingers together, then she placed her hands next to her legs. Her eyes were shifting and she clearly didn't want to make eye contact with him.

Anfey was very attentive to details. He observed all her body language and came to his own conclusion. He kept his expression cold. In situations such as this, it was better to remain silent than to talk. It didn't matter what she was going to say or do. The silence alone would be enough to make her nervous.

The princess's hands were shaking. If Anfey had talked, even if it was a greeting or question as a master, she could use it as an opportunity for communication. Now, however, the silence was making her uncertain.

The princess couldn't bear the dreadful silence anymore. She reached for her dress strings. It took her a long time to undo the strings, even though it should have been easy to untie. She then lifted her dress softly.

Inside was her white underclothes. It was still wet from when she was drenched by Ahab. It clung to her body tightly, accentuating her body's curves. Sometimes, scantily-clothed women were more tempting than naked women. The princess's curves, bright skin, full breasts, and sad, fearful eyes were enough to arouse most men.

Anfey, however, was not most men. He did not notice the princess's body. Instead he focused on her feet. She had two wounds there. The blood was still drying, and it looked like scratch wounds. She may look good with no shoes, but they were still in the wilderness and not a palace. There were many things that could scratch a princess's feet.

When the princess was trying to take off her underclothes, Anfey said quietly, "Do you want me to avenge you?"

The princess hesitated, then she ripped her underclothes off to prove her determination.

She moved closer to Anfey. Perhaps it was because she was inexperienced, she carefully avoided touching any place that may carry a sexual subtext, and only leaned against Anfey's shoulder.

Anfey sighed. His camp had seemed calm, but was in fact very heavily guarded. He didn't know how many people saw the princess going to his carriage. He didn't want any rumors circulating among the group.

"You don't have to do this," he told the princess. "Ahab won't live to see the morning sun."

The princess froze. She looked at Anfey, trying to process his words.

"Anfey, they're coming," Christian called, knocking on the carriage wall. Anfey was thankful that it was Christian who came to warn him. Sante probably would have lifted the curtains without knocking.

"If you don't want your body being seen, I suggest you put on some clothes," Anfey told the princess.

She lifted her head and looked at Anfey, her eyes filled with confusion. In the past, she had seen many men staring at her or looking at her. She was very confident in herself. Before she came, she had already prepared herself for every possible outcome, including the worst ones like if Anfey had taken advantage of her but would not do as he had promised. Now she realized he was not interested in her. He didn't even try to touch her. He didn't look at her as a woman.

Anfey narrowed his eyes. He could already see suspicious movements through a crack in the curtains.

The princess grabbed her clothes and kept her head low. This trip did not accomplish anything. She had just taken her clothes off, and now she had to dress herself again, and they did not even do anything.

In the past, Alibaba mercenary group didn't need any sentinels. As long as there were fires, Eye of the Sky could see everything. The vigils were responsible for patrolling the campsite with the magic. It was another form of training. Ahab didn't know that, though. He had once told Anfey that it would be safer to have sentinels. Even if they did not run into bandits, sentinels could protect them against magic beasts. Anfey only smiled and did not explain anything. For Ahab, this was proof that Anfey and his friends were inexperienced and ignorant of the rules of the forest.

Levels didn't necessarily equal power. An experienced junior magister could easily defeat a new junior magister. The strength of the magic depended on releasing the right magic at the right time, not how powerful the spell was. Back at Saul's mansion, Christian did not release powerful magic. He released a lightning arc that effectively ended the fight.

Ahab didn't know what they had been through. He was very careful when he was making the decisions and considered every possible outcome. When he really acted, the attack turned out sloppy. Ahab clearly did not consider the possibility of an ambush. He was right, though, since Anfey did not prepare an ambush.

When the caravan's guards and mercenary surrounded the carriage, the curtains were ripped off. Anfey climbed out of the carriage and stood on the front of the carriage. The mercenaries and guards all froze.

"Ahab, you've gone too far!" Anfey called loudly. He could easily see Ahab's swollen figure in the dark. Ahab must worry that his men would try to steal the gold, and chose to come with his men to prevent that.

Ahab froze as well. However, he was too worried about the money to hear the sarcasm in Anfey's voice. He thought that Anfey was only questioning why he was doing this. It was too late to pull back, and Ahab didn't care for friendships. "Attack!" he called as a reply to Anfey.

Two guards dashed forward and lurched towards Anfey. The dark red combat power around them proved that they were senior swordsmen.

Anfey waved his hands. Several small fire balls appeared in the air. Hundreds of fire balls surrounded Anfey, hiding his body and illuminating the space around him.

The swordsmen weren't afraid of the fire balls. The two jumped upwards with their combat power to attack Anfey. When they were a few feet away from him, the fireballs disappeared. In Anfey's right hand was a burning longsword. On his left arm was a large, burning shield.

Anfey reached forward, the longsword pierced his enemy's combat power easily. He flicked his wrist and threw the man's body back. Then he took a step to the side to avoid the attack from the other man. He swung his left arm, and hit the man in the face with the shield. The swordsman was thrown back before he could even make a noise. When he landed on the ground, his face was blackened his clothes were aflame.

"A paladin!'" someone called, terrified.

Anfey's attack shocked the mercenaries, and a blinding flash of sword radiance made the mercenaries realize how hopeless the situation was. Suzanna's entire body was hidden in bright combat power, and her combat power cut mercenaries in half before her swords even reached her enemies.

The mercenaries did not know what to do. They did not have any swordsman or mages. Any logical person would know a single senior swordsmen could kill all the mercenaries there. The guards and mercenaries scrambled away from the fight.

Waves of strong magical surges reached the felt. Bolts of lightning fell from the sky. Riska's team had begun its attacks.

"Everyone! This is an ambush! Take him! That's the only way we can live!" Ahab called to his men.

His voice calmed many of the despairing mercenaries and guards. They dashed towards Anfey together.

Wind blades fell onto the enemies. Sante and Zubin led half a dozen people and appeared above them. This team included Feller as well, at Anfey's request. Ahab did not have any powerful men working for him, so his men wouldn't be much of a threat. Even if there wouldn't be any one-on-one fighting, Anfey knew it would be good practice for his friends. Except for Blavi and the few that were protecting Niya and Shally, everyone must join the fight.

Chapter 121: A Big Victory

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

Just as Anfey had estimated, this was undoubtedly a slaughter. The Great Flame Sword in Anfey's hand had created a flaming swirl in the battlefield. Where the flaming swirl moved to, people close to it were killed. Suzanna was more like a harvesting machine, passing through people horizontally and vertically. Where her sword passed, there had been a smog of blood appearing in the air.

Sante, Zubin and others were still releasing their magic. Although mages and swordsmen were on the same level, the ways they fought were quite different. If mages got the chance to fly in the air, swordsmen would be at a disadvantage and could only passively defend themselves without any chance to fight back. This was because the swordsmen could only fight back with sword radiance. Once the mages were in the sky, the swordsmen would have no chance to release their sword radiance. And vice-versa, mages' shields and defensive magic arrays were quite weak. If they were attacked by bad-intentioned swordsmen at a short distance, the result would be disastrous.

The battle between swordsmen and mages on this level was not so fun to watch. The key to the victory lay on which party was the offensive one. However, the fatalities were far more than in the battles at the senior level. Senior-level fighters usually could decide the winner and survivor quickly. If Zubin, Sante and others were suddenly attacked by a group of swordsmen, their fatality would be no better than the swordsmen who were losing right now.

Wind Blade could be countered by combat power. Big fire balls were a challenge though. When the heat waves swiped through people, they would not necessarily die, but definitely be burnt to some degree. If Christian and Riska joined the legion, or if a meteor appeared in the sky, they would die without even any chance to counter it. The powers could be quite different even when the same magic was released by mages and magisters.

A mercenary ran towards Anfey like a crazy monster. Few wind blades were slayed on him, but all were countered by his combat power. The last slay of the wind blade got him and cut deep into his skin. The wind blade turned into moving elements and disappeared in the air. The reason that mercenary was hit by a wind blade at the end because it was released by Christian.

The bloody battle was quickly approaching the end. There weren't many people in a merchant caravan and a small-sized mercenary group. More than half their number had been fatally injured. Christian and others had stopped to watch how Anfey and Suzanna did on the battlefield.

Everyone felt Suzanna's sword skills had gotten a little better than before, and her attitude changed a little as well. Once she was in a state of fighting, she became cold and treated people's lives like bugs. Seeing people dying one after another in front of her, she neither slowed down nor showed any sympathy on her face. She had +undetectable calmness in her.

Anfey's sword skills made watchers feel they were enjoying a show.

If looking at their faces, Suzanna was undoubtedly more beautiful and enjoyable than Anfey. Girly-looking Suzanna looked adorable. Anfey was not a bad-looking guy, but he was not comparable with Suzanna in terms of looks. If looking at their sword skills, Suzanna was skilled with a strong killer vibe, while Anfey had dance-like moves to it. After watching the two of them on the battlefield, everyone felt they had illusion that Anfey did not kill those mercenaries and bodyguards; instead, they were rushing to Anfey's sword one after another one.

The reason for that illusion was Anfey's foot movement. Regular swordsmen's forward, diagonal and side moves were only to help them speed up their offensive attacking or to dodge the opponent's attacks. Anfey's foot movements were systematic on their own. To Anfey, every foot move was an attack itself. Even if he held a sword in his hand still at an angle, with the foot movements, he still could kill his opponent one after another. Anfey's sophisticated sword skills added more effects to his performance. It was more than just a simple calculation of one plus one equals two.

It was unknown when the Shansa Empire's princess had come out of the wagon. She hid in a far corner with a person in her arms. She focused on the battlefield from a distance. Isis did not have that numb face anymore, instead, she had a smile on her face under the moonlight.

When the gang only had just over twenty people left, they could not take the terrifying feeling anymore and started to run away in all directions.

Christian slowly landed in front of Anfey and gave him a questioning look. Anfey nodded at him and then Christian waved. Riska and his fellows chased after those people in the gang.

Great Flame sword and Flame shield turned into elements and disappeared. Anfey walked over ten steps to the side. He smiled, "Bro, get up, I know you are not hurt."

No one answered. There were dead bodies everywhere whose blood had gathered and merged into streams.

Anfey kicked on the waist of a dead body. That dead body sprang up like he was just hit by lightning. "Master Anfey, don't kill me. Don't kill me." Looking at the chubby body, who else could he be? He was Ahab, with blood on his face and body. Anfey knew he was not hurt at all and had been lying on the floor for quite a while. He suffered while people stepping over him without making any sound. His will power was plausible.

"I will decide whether to kill you," Anfey said, smiling.

"Master Anfey, it was not my fault." Ahab knelt on the ground. "It was that guy. He made me do it. Master Anfey, please forgive me. I can give you all I have."

"Why did I hear you said "fight" before?" Anfey obviously was playing with him.

"That guy had a knife to my back. I had to give that order." Ahad had already had regretful tears in his eyes. "Master Anfey, we are friends. Can you forgive me this time?"

"Is this how you treat your friends? Did you say the guy who had a knife to your back was a commander of a mercenary group? So, after he laid down among the dead bodies, you laid down as well. You are of the same batch. Tell me what happened."

"You mother f*^ker." A guy yelled in anger. The guy with thick sideburns sat up in the blood. Of course, he was not cursing at Anfey. He was cursing at Ahab. "Ahab, you mother fucker. My people all died because of you. You are still lying. I…" The big guy suddenly stood up and threw himself at Ahab.

Ahab was just a muggle, so he fell on the floor before he could make any defensive moves. That big guy was smart. He knew Anfey had not killed both of them because they still had value to him. He punched Ahab hard, but did not mean to kill him. Even though Ahab had not died from the punch, his head swollen like a pig head in a blink of eyes.

"Enough. Tell me whose idea it was?" Anfey asked calmly.

"It's his, master," the big guy with thick sideburns yelled.

"It's him." Ahab's yell sounded a lot weaker. It sounded as if he was dying.

"It does not matter whose idea it was. I do not care." Anfey pointed with his finger. "Did you see over there? I will have them decide whether you will live or die. If they do not want to kill you, I will let you go."

The big guy lifted his head and looked into the distance. His bloody face twitched. He recognized those two people. He knew what he had done to them. He cut off Isis's tendon. He was also the first guy who raped her. How could that woman forgive him? If he had know what his situation would be like, he would have treated Isis like she was his family. Unfortunately, there were not so many "if"s in the world. There was no point to think of ifs.

If the princess of Shansa Empire did not flee, if Isis did not run away with the princess, all of these events would not have happened. That big guy had no position to think about ifs.

The big guy with sideburns suddenly jumped up and ran towards Christian. He did not dare to fight with Suzanna and Anfey. Compared with Suzanna and Anfey, Christian looked easy to pick a fight with.

Suzanna quickly put her hand on the sword shaft, and then she relaxed because she saw Anfey stepping forward and kicking that guy with his left leg super fast like a tornado swept through.

That big buy with sideburns got hit on his face while his body continued to move forward by momentum. His legs swung in the air and he fell on his back hard. His face was bloody, but this time it was quite different than when he was faking it before among the dead bodies.

Magic world had its own systematic sword skills, but there was no martial art skills that focused on legs. Anfey's kick was fast and brilliant. Suzanna's eyes brightened up and then she looked down to think about something.

"Hui Wei", Anfey called.

"Coming." Hui Wei ran over from a distance.

"Take them to those two girls. Do what they say. If those two girls do not know what to do with them, give them a hand." Anfey pointed in the direction of the princess with his chin.

"Women tend to more sympathetic." Hui Wei curled his lips. "If those two girls wanted them to leave, should we really let them go?" Hui Wei had just officially joined the legion, but he already had thought for the legion. Letting these two guys go would bring trouble for the legion. It would not only bring revenge to the legion, but also cause troubles in the courts. If he could make a decision, Ahab and the big guy were already dead.

"If those girls let them go, wouldn't you know what to do?" Anfey smiled.

"Master Anfey, please forgive me," Ahab said. The big guy had already passed out, but Ahab was still sober. Ahab screamed when he heard what the conversation between Anfey and Hui Wei. "I will give you all those female slaves. Please forgive me."

"Shut up!" Hui Wei stepped forward and gave him a kick. "Those female slaves would be ours anyway according to the rules. How dare you say you are giving us the female slaves? You are such an idiot."

"Anfey, those female slaves…" Christian asked.

"Take a few people with you and control those mercenaries. You do not have to do anything to those female slaves."

"I got it." Christian nodded.

Chapter 122: Desire

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

The aftermath of the battle was all taken care of. However, since many people were unable to sleep because of the excitement of the battle, they were all gathered in small groups chatting. Because of ingrained stereotypes, a lot of people did not consider killing orcs to be a form of murder. For most in the legion, this battle had been their first time killing humans and was very memorable.

Suzanna and Anfey were strolling around. They kept a healthy distance between them. Not far enough to seem like they were newly acquainted with each other, but not close enough to appear intimate, either. There was no love blooming between the two. Suzanna enjoyed talking with Anfey. If she had to share her secret with someone, it would be him. This was because Anfey was mature, witty, and careful. Whenever she heard his voice or saw his face, she would feel calm.

"Anfey, you should begin practicing intermediate magic," Suzanna said. "Paladins do not post a real threat to the best and the most powerful, but for a normal mage they are very hard to deal with. Imagine, a paladin with magic would be very terrifying to mages."

"I know. I need a good foundation before continuing on."

"Judging from your surges today, you are completely capable of practicing intermediate magic," Suzanna said. "We should congratulate you. You are a mage now. Your growth is incredible."

"It's not a surprise. Anyone would grow as fast as I if they had drunk unicorn blood."

"You drank the blood? Feller gave it to you, didn't he? Christian will be hearing about this."

"You wouldn't!" Anfey said, realizing his mistake.

"You're the one that betrayed our trust! I didn't get any benefits from this. It's your fault for trying to drink the blood without telling us."

"Betraying?" Anfey asked, shaking his head. "If I let you in on this, aren't we then friends with benefits?" He suddenly remembered another meaning to the phrase "friends with benefits." He coughed to hide the awkwardness.

Suzanna wasn't as sensitive as Anfey. She smiled and said, "Actually, I think Christian already knew."

"Really?" Anfey asked, surprised. He thought drinking the unicorn blood wasn't a big deal. If he wasn't there to help them, this team would have never made it this far. However, if people found out, it could damage the unity.

"Christian treated the blood like it was his child," Suzanna said, "and he had to measure it everyday. I usually went and helped them. Whenever he wanted to go over the inventory, Feller got nervous and tried to find an excuse to keep Christian away. Feller is a good person, and wouldn't try to take what isn't his. The story explains itself."

"So I'm not a good person?" Anfey asked, smiling. "It seems like you already knew before hearing about this from me."

"I took an educated guess. Christian must have figured it out as well. After a while, he stopped trying to measure the unicorn blood. I figured that made Feller sleep better at night."

Anfey sighed and shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. Everyone knew that without you, they wouldn't still be alive today."

"Alright," Anfey said, feeling awkward. "Let's forget about this matter."

Anfey's eyes fell on a nearby wooden post, where the bodies of Ahab and the bearded mercenary were hung. The bodies were mangled, and both clearly had been in great pain before they died. This was done under the order of the princess and Isis, and Hui Wei was the executioner. Women were much more terrifying than men when they wanted revenge. The two women were still unsatisfied, but Hui Wei could not carry on, and ended the men's lives and their suffering.

Looking at the bodies, Anfey suddenly remembered something. He turned to Suzanna and said, "Suzanna, there's nothing wrong with your combat power, is there?"

"No, why?"

"I thought it felt strange when you were fighting. You felt murderous. That's not a good thing."

Suzanna hesitated, then said softly, "My combat power isn't like normal combat powers. It's difficult to explain. You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know? You didn't tell me anything about it."

Suzanna shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone. She turned to take a good look and called out, "Anfey, look. What is she doing?"

Anfey turned and found a shadow crouching next to a tent.

Isis held a dagger between her wrists and was kneeling on the ground. She tried to stab herself in the neck with the dagger. It was difficult, and she missed two times, but she continued stubbornly. Under the moonlight, it was easy to see the blood dripping down from her neck. She gasped in pain, but continued on with her movements. She was very determined.

Suzanna was going to run over to stop her, but she was stopped by Anfey, who shook his head slowly. Suzanna stood there, and tears began streaming out of her eyes. Just then, Isis's cries of pain alerted those who were still awake. Christian and Blavi were among those who ran out of their tents to check on the situation. The dagger between Isis's wrists flashed a cold, silvery light. She fell forward stiffly, and fell onto the dagger. Her body tensed, then slowly relaxed.

Everyone knew what had happened to Isis, but watching her killing herself was too much for them to handle. Someone cried out in shock, some covered their mouths with their hands. All eyes were focused on Isis.

"Why didn't you try to help her?" Niya asked angrily.

"You can save her today, but tomorrow? Do you think you could save her every time?" Anfey asked coldly.

"Niya, don't blame him," Suzanna said, wiping her tears away. "You don't know what she had been through. It would be hard for anyone to continue on living after that."

"If she wanted to live, she could use time to ease the pain of what had happened to her. No one would purposely try to remind her of her past. Even if she did not want to stay with us, she could find a place where no one knew her and her past and live there. If she had lost all will to live, why force her to continue on with us?" Niya turned her head away. Even though she hadn't known Isis for long, she knew Isis had gone through hell. Her untimely and unfortunate end had touched everyone present.

Making a decision like this had a lot to do with Anfey's personality. If Isis had wanted to live, he wouldn't treat her any differently. If Isis had wanted to die, he wouldn't try to stop her, either. If there was someone who had grown up without any darkness or hardship present, they might try to talk to Isis and stop her from killing herself. However, Anfey could not. He was under a lot of stress, and he did not have the time or the energy to deal with someone he barely knew. He could only watch and let Isis make her own choice.

Anfey walked over slowly. Isis was still breathing softly. He could tell from her eyes that she had conflicting emotions. However, he knew there was no hesitance or regret.

Anfey peeked into the tent. The princess was still asleep. She had spent days in a cage, and that night she had witnessed a battle. In the end, she had punished the prisoners to avenge herself and her friend. She must be physically and mentally exhausted. She didn't know her friend had already ended her life. For her, it may be a good thing. Witnessing something like that would break her.

"Christian, bury her," Anfey ordered.

"Poor woman," Christian said, shaking his head and sighing.

"Poor?" Anfey asked. "Remember the girls in Lagan City?"

"Yes."

"Remember. This is a world of survival of the fittest. Don't show your weakness, or else one day this may be your end."

Everyone was quiet, trying to understand Anfey's words. After everything that had happened, everyone had their own understanding of power and survival. This tragedy was additional proof that they must remain powerful.

They had remained alive up until that point because of Anfey and Suzanna. What if they found themselves alone one day? With the woman still lying on the ground, dying, everyone felt an acute desire for power.

"What happened in Lagan City?" Suzanna asked.

"Let Niya tell you."

Chapter 123: Furtive

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

"You are free now." The words he said before did not matter, the last sentence was the most important. It needed to be said by Anfey.

The female slaves stood shocked for a second before they cheered. Some of them cried out of happiness, some hugged and jumped up and down. The youngest girls did not understand what "freedom" meant, but seeing their sisters and aunties so happy made them happy as well.

Anfey jumped off the wagon and walked to the four elves. Those elves looked excited. They looked at Anfey.

"Christian, take the antimagic bracelets off them," Anfey said calmly.

From Anfey's point of view, elves were proud and stubborn. They were not easy to get along with. However, they were better than most human beings. There were many people who did bad things to the people who used to offer them help, but very few elves did those terrible things. Taking a deeper look into it, maybe this was the reason the culture of elves was getting weaker. They were too pure for this magic world, while the world was too much for them.

Elves either had to adapt to this world or be destroyed, which was a difficult choice the world had given them. Unluckily, elves had proudly chosen the latter rather than being influenced in a bad way by the world. Their decision could not simply be judged by right or wrong.

"Thank you." The elves bowed to Anfey.

"You are welcome." Anfey simply waved. He turned around and walked away.

Those elves stood still, shocked. Most human beings were interested in the world of elves or elves themselves. Anfey could have taken the opportunity to talk to them. Anfey walked away, which made the elves wonder. Anfey's idea about the elves was simple. These elves who ended up as slaves probably had unimportant roles in the world of elves. In other words, their power levels were average at most. Anfey was not interested in knowing them. After they reached White Mountain City, he would send these elves to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group in the name of Alibaba mercenary group. By doing so, Anfey could gain the friendship of both Hotchbini and the elves. Besides helping Anfey winning over friendship, they were not useful.

Anfey had been dealing with many chores the whole day. Ahab's merchant caravan was just a low-level one, but there were all kinds of items in it. It already took a day to write down everything in the inventory. Anfey decided to camp where they were and take a day's break.

When everybody was busy doing things, Anfey held little Shally's hand secretively and walked with her out of the station. They submerged themselves in the grass and disappeared. Suzanna saw them from a distance. She just smiled, shaking her head. She did not think it was a big deal. If it had happened in modern times, seeing so much news about perverts, she would surely have followed them. Anfey's furtive moves were suspicious, but Suzanna did not worry about it at all.

Anfey looked around and listened to their surroundings to see if anyone was around them before asking Shally in low voice, "Shally, would you listen to me?"

"Yes." Shally nodded seriously. "My sister told me to listen to you."

"Would you listen to anything I tell you?" Anfey asked.

Shally thought about it and nodded, "Yes." Shally was even purer than any elf. She did not have any idea that Anfey could do anything bad to her. Anfey's furtive look did not make him look like a good person.

"Good." Anfey smiled. He looked up and listened to the surroundings again. He thought for a while and finally made a decision. "Shally, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Shally asked in surprise.

Anfey whispered to Shally to her ear.

"Huh? I don't want to do it," Shally said.

"Yes, you will do it," Anfey said.

"No, Anfey," Shally said.

"You will do it. Are you listening to me?" What Anfey said was a typical conversation between a predator and victim. No one could imagine this kind of conversation could happen here.

"I am afraid…" Shally said.

"What are you afraid of? Just try it, just once," Anfey said.

Luckily, Suzanna did not follow them. If she had heard the conversation, she probably would not have been able to keep from jumping out to ask Anfey what he was doing to Shally.

"Anfey," Shally pouted.

"Did you just say you would listen to me and do anything I ask you to do?" Anfey asked.

"But," Shally said.

"Why are you talking so much? Just listen to me." Anfey was upset.

"If I hurt you, my sister would blame me," Shally said.

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think you can hurt me?" Anfey had to dare Shally.

Little kids were easy to comfort. Shally frowned and looked like a little soldier. "Ok. If I hurt you, you are not allowed to tell on me to my sister."

"Of course, I would not tell on you. I, Anfey, am not that kind of person," Anfey said.

"You promise?" Shally was still not so sure about it.

"Come one, come on, hurry up." Anfey felt helpless. If he had not wanted be a joke for others, he would not have found Shally to do it with him. This little girl talked too much.

"Are you ready? I am firing now," Shally said seriously.

"Yes, yes," Anfey said.

"My greatest Fire God…" Little Shally started to chant with sincerity.

Anfey secretly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. It was just a little fire ball. She did not have to ask for Fire God, did she? Luckily, he knew, if others saw Shally looking so sincere, they probably would think she was releasing magic.

After she finished her chanting, a little fire ball appeared in Shally's hand. She shot at Anfey.

Anfey focused and tried to communicate with the fire elements that he could sense. This was a new idea he had yesterday. If the fire elements he called out would not hurt him, then maybe he could try to communicate with others' fire elements. Of course, he was not so sure it would work. Otherwise he would not have asked Shally to shoot the fire ball.

As Anfey felt he was communicating with the fire elements with his telephathy, the little fire ball hit Anfey's face. With a puffing sound, the little fire ball turned into countless sparks and disappeared. Anfey felt warm on his face without any burning pain. He had done it. Immediately, Anfey realized a serious problem. This little girl aimed at his face. What would happen if he had not made it?

"You; Shally." Anfey could only heave a long sigh. He could not do anything to little Shally.

Shally was startled for a while before she ran to Anfey. She tugged on his shirt to asked Anfey to lower himself. She touched his face with her little cold hands. "Anfey, your face got a thick layer of skin." It was Anfey's turn to feel shocked. From Shally's point of view, without a magic shield and combat power, the only way Anfey could counter the fire ball was because he got thicker skin even than magic armor.

Anfey was speechless about the way Shally thought. Shally's comments did not sound so nice.

"Anfey, can we play again?" Shally screamed in excitement.

"We should go back now. Maybe we can play next time." Anfey was just trying to test whether his idea would work. He had completed the task, so he wanted to go back and give it a little bit more thought.

"I want to play again." Shally twisted her body to whine to Anfey.

"Next time," Anfey said.

"I want to play again," Shally whined a second time.

Their conversation right then, as before, could easily make people think something else was going on. However, Anfey and Shally did not feel there was anything wrong with their conversation. Shally had no idea, and the other did not realize.

"Ok, Ok." Anfey nodded. He showed a serious face and said, "Not on the face, ok?"

"Yes, I know," Shally said.

"Ok, shoot." Anfey started to focus with his telephathy. It would be good for Anfey to test his new idea a couple of times more. He tried to control the fire balls Shally fired at him as quickly as possible. If he could get control of the fire balls at the moment Shally shot them out, then he could easily beat any mages at the same level when his magic skills reached a certain level.

"Great Fire God." Shally looked even more sincere. She wished she could improve the power of her little fire balls with more sincere chanting.

One, two, three…Anfey continued to have few feelings. They did not leave the forest for a long time. When they walked to the station, Shally was so exhausted that she could not even walk. Her magic ability was low to begin with, and she had been trying hard to hit Anfey. She not only emptied her magic, but also physically exhausted herself.

Anfey walked into the station with Shally in his arms. Shally had sweat all over her face. Her face was a little pale, with her eyes half closed. If any dark person saw this scene, Anfey would have a hard time explaining what happened between Anfey and Shally.

Suzanna and Vonmerge were talking when Anfey walked in. They hurried over. "Anfey, where did you go?"

"What happened to Shally? Anfey, what did you do?" Vonmerge asked in surprise.

"I did not do anything. We were practicing magic," Anfey answered calmly. Anfey had not done anything wrong, so he was not afraid of being questioned.

"But..." Vonmerge looked at Shally in surprise and thought to himself, "Look at poor Shally. How could Anfey say they did not do anything?"

"Sis, it was fun." Shally opened her eyes and barely had strength to smile.

"What did you play?" Suzanna asked in curiosity.

Anfey suddenly coughed. He did not want anyone to know his combat power.

Shally realized as well. "This is a secret between me and Anfey. I am not telling anyone," Shally answered proudly. She was proud to be able to share a secret with Anfey.

Chapter 124: Chance Encounter

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

Two days later, Anfey and the group arrived at White Mountain City. Geographically, White Mountain City was as important as Blackwater City. However, the latter was much older, and much larger. Both cities, however, had tattered city walls. It seemed like none of the mercenary groups cared much about fixing the walls.

In order to get a better view of the city, Anfey decided to ride on a horse instead of staying inside the carriage.

The atmosphere around the city was tense. There were around thirty officers inspecting passing carriages and people. Tiger of Tawau mercenary group ruled Blackwater City, and that was where the group's base was located. It was easy for them to control Blackwater City, but White Mountain City was another matter. Anfey knew that the inspectors would be a great advantage to whoever controlled them. He observed them carefully, trying to find something useful.

A black carriage came out of the gate. Suddenly Anfey felt someone's gaze on him. He was very sensitive to people gazing at him. Even if someone was observing him in secret, he could still tell. Anfey looked around to find the source, but then the pressure suddenly disappeared, and he could only see the slight swaying of a carriage's curtains. Anfey narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze towards the front. When the carriage was a few feet away from him, his horse suddenly whined loudly and dashed towards the carriage.

The driver reacted quickly. He called out loudly and pulled on his horses. Anfey's horse ran into the carriage's horses, causing a commotion among them. When his horse fell to the ground, he was already standing on the road, unharmed.

It took the driver a while to calm his horses down. He turned and yelled, "Do you even know how to ride? Did you want to die?"

"Do you know how to drive? Do you want to kill me?" Anfey called back. He took a step forward and grabbed the carriage driver's shirt. It seemed like he was ready for a fight.

A blood vessel was pulsing violent on the driver's neck. He had never met anyone as unreasonable as the man in front of him. If it wasn't for Anfey's horse, none of this would have happened. The driver raised his whip and was going to strike him.

The inspectors glanced their way but did not intervene. They were mercenaries, and conflicts like that were nothing new to them. They all had tempers. If they tried to resolve every conflict, there would be no time for anything else. As long as no one was hurt, they wouldn't do anything about it.

"I apologize," a soft voice said. A pale, plump hand pulled the curtains open. A young woman in her mid-twenties stepped out of the carriage. "Sir, it is our fault."

The driver's hand fell to his side. He stared at the woman in shock. It seemed like he could not understand why his master was apologizing.

Anfey snorted and pushed the driver. The driver was staring, and almost fell over the other side of the carriage. He stared at Anfey angrily and was about to lunge at him.

The woman coughed softly.

The driver's body froze, and he sat back into his seat. He was still staring at Anfey, enraged.

"Are you hurt?" the woman asked softly.

"No, but I am spooked!" Anfey said. "Didn't you see? I almost fell into the horses!"

"That is not the way a gentleman talks to a lady, sir."

Anfey hesitated. The woman was dressed lavishly. Her face was covered with makeup, but her eyes and lips were not made up. Her black dress showed half of her chest and a slight cleavage. Dresses like this left things to the imagination. If she showed more skin, she could be called immoral, and if she covered up more skin she could be called a prude.

Anfey's eyes landed on her chest and darted away. "So-sorry," he said, blushing. "I was too loud."

"It is alright," the woman said. She fished out two silver coins and handed them to him. "Sir, why don't you take this money and go buy a drink or two?"

"No, no," he said, "that's won't be necessary."

"Do please take it," the woman said. She took his hand and placed the coins on his palm. Her fingers purposely brushed against his palm.

Anfey blushed and took the coins.

Vonmerge was worried that something was wrong and ran over, calling Anfey's name. The horse hobbled after Vonmerge.

"Sorry for the distraction, ma'am," Anfey said.

"Don't worry about it," the woman said. "I hope we meet again."

"Of course, of course," Anfey nodded.

Anfey smiled as he watched the carriage drive away. He walked to the carriage in which Black Eleven was riding. "What happened?" Black Eleven asked.

"Did you see that carriage?"

"Yes."

"You should have people in White Mountain City. Look for that carriage's owner."

"Alright," Black Eleven said, nodding. "What happened?"

"Someone was watching me," Anfey said. "For people here, I am just a normal stranger. Plus, I'm not as handsome as Christian. There was no reason for anyone to be staring."

"Just that?" Black Eleven asked. "Are you a little too sensitive? You may not be as handsome as Christian, but you aren't bad looking, either."

"I didn't know you know how to make a joke," Anfey said softly. "I caused a commotion on purpose just then. I was hoping whoever was in the carriage would come out and see what had happened."

"Didn't you?"

"No. There was someone else in there," Anfey said. "Don't you think it's weird? I caused everything on purpose, but they were trying to resolve the matter without a huge conflict. She gave me two silver coins. If someone provoked me like that, I would beat them up for sure. I have nothing to hide. I am not afraid of anyone."

"When you put it like that, it does seems weird," Black Eleven admitted.

"There's a saying where I come from: When you treat someone nicely when you don't have to, you must have something you want. When you're trying to stay low when you should not, you have a reason to do so," Anfey shrugged and told Black Eleven. "Your men had nothing better to do anyway. If it was because I was too suspicious, so be it. Better safe than sorry, eh?"

"I'm afraid even the lord general isn't as paranoid as you," Black Eleven said, shaking his head.

In the carriage driving the other way, another conversation was taking place.

"Eddie, you're so careful lately. Did a village boy like that scare you?"

"Village boy?" the blond youth said coldly. "If you had forgotten, that was Anfey."

"So?"

"Don't forget. He was the one who killed Black Ghost. Don't underestimate him," Eddie said, frowning. "I think we might have made a mistake."

"What is it?" the woman asked.

Eddie frowned and thought about the encounter. "Our attitude," Eddie said, sighing. "A long time ago, I met him once. At Tumen Commercial Union. He was with Saul and Ernest then. There was no way he would have recognized me. I should have confronted him."

"You told me to keep him away."

"I know. It was my fault. I never thought he would be in White Mountain City. I subconsciously wanted to avoid conflict with him and raise alarms. I've made a mistake." Eddie shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"You're saying he was provoking us?" The woman asked, smiling. "Eddie, you're thinking too much. He's not an easily embarrassed boy."

"You're thinking too little," Eddie said. "Don't forget, he had Niya with him, and Niya was famous for her beauty."

"Eddie, what are you trying to say?" The smile on the woman's face disappeared. She looked at Eddie coldly. Eddie's words were too blunt. Niya was famously beautiful, meaning that if Anfey were interested in women, he would choose Niya and not the woman.

"Sorry, sorry," Eddie said. He smiled bitterly. "I'm disturbed. If my words offend you, I apologize."

"Eddie, even if my lord had ordered me to work with you, you have to remember your place." The apology clearly did not satisfy the woman. Women hate being compared to other women, and Eddie's words clearly injured the woman's pride. She stared at Eddie coldly.

Chapter 125: Hero

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

"Excuse me, who are you looking for?" A few mercenaries dressed as swordsmen stopped Anfey. Two mages nervously stared at Anfey behind the mercenaries. The air seemed tensed.

"I am here for Hotchbini. Could you let her know I am here?" Anfey asked, smiling.

"I am sorry. Ms. Hotchbini, is not in White Mountain City right now. Can you come by some other time?" a swordsman answered politely.

"Sorry." Anfey hesitated for a second. "Can you take a message for me? I am the commander of Alibaba mercenary group. Something happened on my way to White Mountain City, and I saved a group of female slaves. I personally have so much sympathy towards them. I hope I can find them a safe place."

Those swordsmen looked at each other and felt Anfey was ridiculous. If this had happened in previous times, they would immediately have accepted this group of female slaves and sold them for money after Anfey left. They would make a profit by doing so. However, this was not a good time, since Glory mercenary group had suffered a big loss. Anthony still had not shown up. After receiving the order to withdraw, Tiger of Tawau mercenaries had been worried all day long. They did not dare to sleep, not to mention accepting female slaves.

"I am sorry. We cannot help you," a swordsman said slowly.

"I have found a place for the female slaves. Only there are a few elves, and I do not know where I can send them to. I heard Ms. Hotchbini had saved a lot of elves. I am bringing them here in hopes that Ms. Hotchbini could take care of them." Anfey waved.

Christian lifted up the wagon curtain, and a few elves ducked out of the wagon. Looking at the sign for Tiger of Tawau mercenary group, they looked excited. Ms. Hotchbini had claimed that Tiger of Tawau mercenary group would be a home for homeless elves. Once elves stepped through the gate of the Tiger of Tawau mercenary group, they would receive the protection of Tiger of Tawau. Anyone hurting elves would be seen as picking a fight with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group.

The swordsmen were shocked for a second, bowed to Anfey, and said, "Thank you so much."

"You are welcome. It's our honor." Without knowing when it had happened, Anfey had become a hero. He even talked like a hero.

"Please take this." A intermediate swordsman passed something to Anfey. "No matter when you need help, you can take it to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. We would never turn you down after this."

"This is…" Anfey took that item. It was a small badge. It was green in the front with a flying elf with wings open. In the back it was white silver with the name of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group.

"Sir, right now is not a good time, so we are not going to invite you to come in, in case anything happens to you," the intermediate swordsman said, smiling. "It is our honor to have you visit us at this sensitive time. You know, we have not had guests for a while."

"I am from Blackwater City. I know what has happened," Anfey said. "I am just sending these poor elves home. I think Master Anthony would not blame me for sending just a few elves home."

The intermediate swordsman saw Anfey was neither arrogant nor too humble about himself. He was sentimental. He smiled and said, "Is your mercenary group called Alibaba mercenary group? Under your leadership, I believe you will make a good name for the Alibaba mercenary group in the not-too-distant future."

"Thank you for your compliments. I am not going to forget you. Goodbye." Anfey smiled.

"Bye." The intermediate swordsman gave Anfey a long look before he waved at the mercenaries to close the gate.

Before Anfey got back to his own wagon, the door of Tiger of Tawau of mercenary group had already closed. Compared with other places, White Mountain City looked like a ghost town. The stores on the streets were closed. There were no pedestrians on the street either. Obviously, they were afraid they would get dragged into bad situations.

"No wonder you are a student of Master Saul. You have money. If it were me, I would sell those elves." Black Eleven gave a fake smile.

"They would not sell for much." Anfey looked at the little badge in his hand with a smile. "We broke the ice in the relationship with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. If anything happens later, we can look to them for help."

Black Eleven was so speechless that he could only heave a sigh. Glory and Tiger of Tawau mercenary groups had become enemies, with Anfey planning everything behind the scenes. Now he tried to get connected with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. It just felt weird. Black Eleven's memory was not bad. He still remembered that Anfey had planned to use the secret of Yolanthe's fake death to get connected with Anthony after the war started and the secrets about the war had lost their value. He was setting them up one moment and wanting to be friends with them the next. Black Eleven saw the grey shadow on Anfey. They were so much alike.

"Do you have any safe places?" Anfey asked with a smile.

"Yes, we can go to my hotel," Black Eleven said.

"A hotel again? Can we find somewhere else?" Anfey asked.

"Is there any other place would not send out an alarm when a group of people came in? The hotel is the only safe place. It fits your identity the best," Black Eleven said.

"Don't tell me all of your hotels are the same," Anfey said.

"They are similar. Not only are my hotels all similar, all the mid-level hotels in Blackwater City and White Mountain City are all similar," Black Eleven said.

"Boring." Anfey shook his head. Anfey had been nervous since he had stirred things up in Blackwater City. After being so stressed, he needed to relax a little bit. Alternating his status of being stressed and relaxed was a way to keep him going.

"It is a boring world anyway. If you are a travelling poet looking for inspiration, I could find you a nice place, but you are just a mercenary," Black Eleven said.

"Never mind, never mind. I can stay anywhere," Anfey said bitterly.

Maybe Black Eleven was against Anfey on purpose, because the Tuna Hotel they stayed in was even smaller than the one in Blackwater City. Tuna Hotel was a two-story building. Anfey and his mercenary group took the whole upper floor, while seven or eight female slaves stayed in one room downstairs. The female slaves did not complain about their room being too small. They were happy enough, since they were no longer treated as sex slaves. In addition, Anfey had promised them they could go back to their hometowns. They had no position to complain. The hotel was small but those women were happy to clean up their room. They not only cleaned the first floor, but did an even better job cleaning the upper floor. The outside of the hotel still looked like before, but inside was super tidy and clean.

Anfey had asked Christian to take the captives to report to the mercenary union about being attacked. Christian also needed to handle some paperwork. Anfey just spread himself on the bed, enjoying his free time. Two girls kneeled on the floor to clean it. They looked up to peek at Anfey once in awhile and then looked down with a shy smile. They would not understand Anfey with the knowledge they had. They only knew Anfey saved them and killed all the bad guys in justice. Anfey had been very nice to them for the past few days. He never asked them to do anything. They did cleaning on their own.

In their view, Anfey was a hero. He possessed the qualities of humility, honesty, sympathy, bravery, justice, honor and many other positive traits. Anfey never used his authority to order them to do anything. It showed he was humble. Anfey did not bully them or sell them for money. He gave them freedom. It was honesty and sympathy. They heard that Anfey was a paladin. When his legion was attacked by the gang, he was on the frontier. It was heroic and self-sacrificing. Anfey was not greedy about elves' beauty and sent them back to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. They could prove Anfey was a man with many good qualities with the many helpful and courageous things Anfey did. In general, those girls thought Anfey was a perfect guy. More important, he was still single.

It was fortunate those female slaves did not connect with Suzanna and Niya well, otherwise Niya and Suzanna would faint if they told Suzanna and Niya what they thought about Anfey.

This nice atmosphere in Anfey's room was ruined the moment Black Eleven stepped in. He called out, "Anfey."

Anfey spang up from the bed. Seeing Black Eleven's serious face, Anfey realized something had happened. He stood up and walked out of his room. When he passed the two girls on the way, Anfey said in low voice, "Everyone must be tired after walking the whole day. You girls can go to rest. You can continue your cleaning tomorrow."

"Yes, master." The two girls answer quietly, but they scrubbed the floor even harder. They looked like they were in competition to see who could make the floor cleaner. They felt happy inside after they heard what Anfey said to them.

This Tuna Hotel had a large backyard. Through the backyard was an access to a blacksmith shop. The blacksmiths were engaged in their work. No one even looked up to notice Anfey and Black Eleven. When they walked out of the store, there was a street and a fabric store on the other side of the street. Black Eleven walked in front of Anfey into the fabric store.

"Are they all your people?" Anfey asked in surprise.