203 - 212

Chapter 203: Very Sick

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

After turning the corner in the tunnel, Blavi and few others waited in the underground city. The important people in the legion were all there, no one was missing. Niya stood in the front with a smile. Black Eleven was with them with crutches. He looked like he could not move easily.

"Anfey, are we good? Can we go out now?" Niya yelled when Anfey was still seven or eight yards away. Niya cared the most whether she could go out. It was torture for her to hide in the dark underground. She dreamed of running out and sunbathing.

"What are you rushing for? Just wait for another two days." Anfey laid his eyes on Black Eleven. "How is your wound?"

"I am fine." Black Eleven smiled and patted his chest hard to show he was doing well.

"Huh, I have not finished yet," Niya hurriedly interrupted. "Anfey, did you bring us any gifts?"

"Gifts…" Anfey thought a little bit and took out an item from his Dimensional ring and passed it to Niya.

"What is it? Smells great!" Niya looked at the little stone in curiosity. This stone gave out a nice fragrance to make people feel good. It smelled like thousands of flowers.

Anfey scanned the room and laid his eyes on a stranger. He was shocked to see a stranger, "This is…"

"This is my companion. He brought you two good news. We will talk about it later," Black Eleven said in a secretive manner.

"Hello," The stranger nodded at Anfey with a smile.

"Hello," Anfey responded.

"It is not fair. Why did only Niya get a gift, but we do not get any gift?" Hagan yelled.

"Oh, right, I got a short bow from an elf, but I could not pull the bowstring apart. What do you think?" Anfey turned his hand and there was a green short bow in his hand.

Hagan's attention was totally drawn to it. He took over the short bow and looked at it for awhile. "This is a contract bow. Only its owner can use it. Of course, you can not pull it apart."

"Can you take the contract off the bow?" Anfey asked.

"I cannot tell you now. Let me do some research on it. Can I have it for now?" Hagan looked up. "Do you have anything else good?"

"I have a gigantic shield." Anfey took out a gigantic shield from his Dimensional ring and tossed it on the floor. "I have other some small things. They are with Riska."

"Huh? What is this made of?" Hagan squatted and knocked on the shield in curiosity to see its texture.

Anfey scanned the other side of the crowd and saw a lonely figure in the corner. She looked helpless and cold. She did not fit in with this happy crowd. He was unsure whether she had abandoned the world or the world had abandoned her.

Anfey felt bad for her. The figure was very similar to one side of Anfey that he hid so well in himself. Anfey used to feel as lonely and isolated by the world as she did. He heaved a slight sigh and walked slowly to her. "Hey, you came too."

"Yes," Alice said casually.

"This is your gift." Anfey took out another piece of the stone that could give out nice fragrance.

"Thank you," Alice said.

"You are welcome." Anfey blinked. He felt he had nothing else to say. Actually he did not have anything to talk about with this princess from Shansa Empire. "Ok, I need to go over there first."

"Sure," Alice said.

As Anfey was about to leave, Niya came over and asked, "Anfey, what did you say to that bitch?"

"Nothing, I just greeted her." Anfey was actually explaining to Suzanna standing behind Niya.

"How did you greet her?" Niya seemed ready to asked about every detail.

"Ok, Niya, let's talk over there. Let these guys catch up," Suzanna said, smiling at Anfey. She tried to grab Niya away. "Niya, where is Shally? Why is she not here?"

"She had a headache last night and did not sleep at all. She is sleeping soundly now, so I did not wake her up," Niya said.

"Is Shally sick?" Suzanna's face suddenly changed. "Come on, take me to see her."

"She is ok now." Niya smiled. "Look at you. Your face has changed. Stop acting like a kid."

Anfey did not know if he should laugh or cry when he heard what Niya said. He thought to himself, "In the whole legion, Niya is the one acting like a kid the most. Birds of a feather flock together. You hang out all the time with little Shally. How dare you pretend to be the mature one?"

"Huh, right." Niya suddenly yelled, "Anfey, go look at the little guy. The little guy is so sick."

"Little guy?" Anfey did not realize who the little guy was immediately.

"Yes, Hui Wei said unicorns could not live in the underground too long. They could die from it. You should take a look at the little guy now," Niya yelled.

"What exactly happened?" Anfey asked as he stared at Hui Wei.

"Anfey, just as people cannot live without water and food, unicorns cannot live without moonlight and sunlight. If the little unicorn could not get any sunlight, he would die," Hui Wei said slowly.

"I have planned to ask Christian to take the little guy outside, and I will take over tomorrow during the day. You told us not to go out when you left, but we could not wait and see the little guy dying in front of us. Now you finally came back: You decide whether we can take the little unicorn out," Blavi said.

"Where is the little guy?" Anfey asked with a worryied tone.

Anfey felt worried. It might be because he took the Tear of Stars. The little unicorn was not just a magic beast for Anfey. The little unicorn was more like Anfey's kid. How could he not get worried when he heard the little guy was about to die. He wanted to blame Christian for not being flexible, but he kept his mouth shut. He did give the order to stay in the underground, and Christian just strictly followed it.

"Let's go. I will show you the way." Niya trotted ahead before Anfey could say anything. Everyone had different power abilities, but they were all part of the legion family to Anfey. However, Niya felt that she only had two friends, Shally and the little guy. Besides Anfey, she felt the worst about the little guy.

As they walked to the end of the tunnel, Niya rushed to open a stone chamber door. Anfey rushed in and saw the little guy lying on his stomach on some dry grass on the floor. The stone chamber was very bright. Christian took almost all the everlasting lights to this stone chamber. However, everlasting lights did not seem to work for the little guy. When the little guy saw Anfey, he moaned loudly and he tried to stand up. However, he was so weak that he could not hold himself.

"Uh!" Niya had tears in her eyes. She rushed over and held the little guy in her arms.

"Christian, can you open the door. Let's go out now," Anfey said in a worrying tone.

"Ok." Christian immediately turned around and walked out of the stone chamber.

Suddenly, without knowing what substance had caused the little guy to struggle, he jerked hard in Niya's arms. He had been so weak, but now he even bit Niya's hand.

"What are you doing? Are you going to eat me?" Niya screamed in surprise. Her imagination was great.

Hui Wei, standing at the door, suddenly thought of something. As Niya pulled her hand out, he saw something shining. That was the gift Anfey gave her, and she had not had time to put it away and held it in her hand. Did the little unicorn want that little stone?

"Niya, give the gift Anfey gave you to the little guy," Hui Wei said urgently.

"What?" Niya was shocked for a second and opened her palm. The little guy bit the stone immediately. He leaned his head back and swallowed the stone.

"Do not eat it. You will have stomachache." Niya got worried.

"He will be fine." Hui Wei had a smile on his face. "Anfey, did you get those stones from a gigantic butterfly?"

"How did you know?" Riska stared, wide-eyed.

"This is the power of knowledge." Hui Wei had a confident smile on his face and stuck his chest out.

"Stop it." Anfey slapped Hui Wei hard on his back. Hui Wei's confidence seemed to be patted away. "Tell me, what happened?" Anfey asked.

"How many stones do you have?" Hui Wei asked with a bitter smile.

"Many," Anfey said.

"Take them all out and give the little guy a good meal, and then take him to get some sun. Stay overnight there. Tomorrow at this time, the little guy should be fine," Hui Wei said.

"Really?" Anfey asked.

"Of course. Why would I joke about it?" Hui Wei said.

Anfey took all the stones out without any hesitation. This little guy did not have much energy, but he ate quickly. He had dozens of stones in a few bites.

"Hui Wei, tell us what happened," Riska asked.

"You guys saw an Angel Butterfly. This kind of butterfly was not very useful, but there were very few of them. Do you know the perfume Dream Elf? It was made from this kind of stone," Hui Wei said.

"Huh, I thought I smelled something like this before. I could not think what it was right away," Niya said.

"Hui Wei, is the little guy really going to be fine?" Anfey, wanting to confirm it, asked as he caressed the little guy's head.

"Yes, but he needs moonlight and sunlight as well." Hui Wei nodded.

The little guy gave a quiet moan. He took his front legs off Niya's arms and held them towards Anfey. This looked too much like a human being. The little guy looked like a little kid wanting a hug. Anfey held out his hands and took the little guy from Niya. Niya did not look like she wanted the little guy to leave her arms.

Chapter 204: Victory

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

The unicorn recovered significantly under the sunlight. It was lying next to Anfey, glancing at what was going on around it. Once it a while it would nudge Anfey's arm, in case he had forgotten about it.

Suzanna sat next to Anfey, and Shally was leaning against her shoulder. The sisters hadn't seen each other in days, and were very excited to be reunited. Suzanna wanted to stay with Anfey, but she also wanted to spend time with her sister, so she brought Shally along.

Niya was strolling and humming to herself. She had always been treated like a princess, and was not used to living in an underground tunnel. In the entire team, Niya was the only person that could make Anfey compromise. He had agreed to let her sleep somewhere she could see the moonlight and breathe the fresh air. Of course, he had agreed to let the others do the same, as well. He did not want to make the others feel like he was treating Niya better than anyone else. It would affect the team in a negative way.

Black Eleven walked over slowly with his colleague and nodded at Anfey and Suzanna.

Anfey smiled at them. The man with Black Eleven glanced at Suzanna, then turned to Anfey and said, "I need to discuss something important with you."

"I'm taking Shally for a walk. You three talk," Suzanna said. She was very aware that the stranger wanted her to leave.

"Let me introduce you," Anfey said, taking Suzanna's hand. "This is my fiancée, Suzanna. I trust her with everything. If you want to talk, I believe she has the right to hear it too."

The man frowned and turned to Black Eleven.

Black Eleven nodded and shrugged. "Don't worry," he said with a smile.

"I apologize, madame," the man said. It seemed like he understood how important Suzanna was. "As you may know, I am Armin's colleague. People like us are required to follow our superior's every order. My superior ordered me to speak with Anfey alone, and I hope you do not mind me following my orders."

"It is fine, I understand," Suzanna said, smiling. She wasn't interested in what they had to say at all, but after Anfey had specifically requesting that she stay, she did not want to leave, either.

"You are very kind, my lady," the man said. He turned to Anfey and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Apa, and, unlike Armin, who belongs to the Black faction, I belong to the Blood faction. His Majesty is a straightforward man who dislikes naming his people with pretentious names. I think someone as smart as you should be able to figure out how my duties differ from Armin's."

"Of course," Anfey said. At first, Anfey did not like how Apa tried to get Suzanna away from the conversation. Now, seeing that he had handled the situation very well, Anfey could not bring himself to dislike him anymore. "You are a very talkative man," Anfey said. "I am sure speaking with you is never boring."

"Of course, of course," Apa said with a smile. He knew Anfey wanted to get straight to the point. "I have two pieces of good news for you. One is perhaps more personal for you than the other. Which one would you like to hear about first?"

"I am a selfish man, Apa. I want to hear the one more personal to me."

Apa nodded. Everyone was selfish, but there were very few people who would openly admit that. He decided to change his tone and make the conversation more lighthearted. "Madame, I have some good news for you," he turned to Suzanna and said.

Suzanna blushed. This was the second time Apa had referred to her as madame, and for an unmarried woman like Suzanna, it was strange to the ear. "Please just tell us the news, sir," she said. She knew that she should not act naive, and she must be the one asking the questions.

"Your fiancé has received a large piece of land as a reward for his bravery. He will receive the Medal of Mars, handed out by His Majesty himself." Apa turned his gaze to Anfey, observing his expression.

"Really?" Suzanna turned to Anfey and said, "Dear, did you hear that? I am so proud of you!" It was natural for a woman to be giving her lover compliments after receiving such good news, but Suzanna's heart was pounding because it was the first time she had referred to Anfey as "dear" in front of others. It was what was expected of her, however, and she needed to play the part of a loving fiancée.

Anfey was smiling and trying to disguise his true feelings. No one could read anything from his face if he did not want them to. Judging from Black Eleven's expression, however, Anfey already knew how important this honor was.

This honor, however, had too much underlying information. So much that Anfey was slightly panicking. Most importantly, Yolanthe expressed his gratitude towards Anfey and his companions with this honor. Anfey and the master swordsman Philip had a turbulent relationship, and this award would make Anfey a hero. Philip would have to be more careful.

If a master swordsman and some archmages attacked and destroyed a Griffin Aerial Squadron, they may succeed, and it would to be a surprise. If a small mercenary band attacked and destroyed the squadron, it would be considered a miracle. Anfey used this as a message to Yolanthe, showing that he was willing to work for Maho Empire.

Yolanthe clearly understood what he was trying to convey. This was a huge award, but Anfey knew that he was not completely safe yet.

"Tell me the second one," Anfey said.

Seeing that there was no change in his expression, Apa shook his head disappointingly. He quickly changed his attitude, however, and said with a smile, "We won."

"We won?"

"Yes. We've won the war," Apa said. "Newyoheim, the leader of the Dark Moon Magic Legion, used a forbidden spell. However, Archmage Saul took the opportunity and used the Great Dimensional Sweep, disrupting the elements and rendering the spell useless. Lord Baery seized the chance and attacked the legion, forcing them into a surrender."

"Master defeated Newyoheim? Does that mean he is more powerful, then?"

"No, it is purely because of luck. I am not doubting Archmage Saul's power, of course," Apa said with a smile. "As far as I know, Lord Baery, Philip, and Ernest were all involved in the battle. Newyoheim is the most powerful archmage, but there is no fairness in war."

"Was Newyoheim captured?"

"No, unfortunately. They had a temporary transmission portal, and everyone over the rank of captain was transported elsewhere," Apa said with a sigh. "As you know, people like Newyoheim have thousands of ways to save themselves. It is almost impossible to capture them alive."

"They have surrendered. Did you accept the surrender?"

"Of course."

"His Majesty had given up those lands to defeat that legion. If it was me, I would not have accepted that."

Apa and Black Eleven glanced at each other. "There are people you cannot kill, you know," Apa said. "No one would want to destroy a treasure trove."

"What do you mean?"

"Take Lord Baery's Roaring Death Legion, for example. There are hundreds of noncombatant workers, mostly scribes. They are scions of nobles houses sent to the army."

"To gain experience."

"Yes," Apa said with a smile. "There are hundreds of people like that in Dark Moon Magic Legion. They can trade for a fortune. As for the real mages, they will be sent to quarries as workers after their magic has been banished. Our diplomats will prolong the process of negotiation. The mages won't last long in places like quarries. As you know, mages are typically not physically fit. The other slaves will try to make their lives as difficult as possible, as well. They are doomed."

"Which means, Dark Moon Magic Legion is practically nonexistent," Black Eleven said with a smile.

Chapter 205: Huge Business

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

"Does everyone know about it?" Anfey asked slowly. He had some concerns. Maho Empire had won a big military victory, which was big news for them. Everyone was happy about getting reunited. If they had known about the victory, they would have been exhilarated about it.

"They do not know about it yet," Apa said, shaking his head.

"The king asked me to let you know it first, and you can decide whether to tell others." Apa smiled. He recalled the words Yolanthe told him. Of course, he would not tell Anfey the exact words.

"I do not get it," Anfey said. "It would only take at most one month to clean up the battlefield and the deal with the aftereffects of the war. That means the second prince of Maho Empire and Master Saul would come back to Sacred City in two months"

Anfey suddenly realized they could go home if Saul was going home. This was definitely a good thing, but it meant Alibaba mercenary group would be dismissed. For various reasons, they all needed to go back to Sacred City. However, it was still unknown if they could come back to the underground city. There was still something he did not get, especially what Yolanthe was trying to hint to him.

"Can I ask where exactly my estate is?" Anfey asked.

"I knew you would ask. I brought the map with me." Apa took out a scroll from his shirt with a smile and unrolled it. The remaining sunset had dyed the sky a golden color. "Violet City is here. Congratulations. Violet City is a wealthy city. Although your nobility title did not change, your estate is as big as a duke's."

"Here is…?" Anfey asked.

"This is Blackania City," Apa answered.

After a bit of thought, Anfey finally realized what Yolanthe was trying to hint to him. Violet City and Blackania City were next to each other on Maho Empire's border. It was not only a military center, but also a commercial center. Shansa Empire attacked Maho Empire through a different country, which caused a lot of damage to Maho Empire. It messed up Yolanthe's badly. By that time, Yolanthe had switched his attention to the Country of Mercenaries. Thinking about the locations of Moramatch, Hengduan Valley, and Violet City on the other side of Hengduan Valley, Anfey believed that Yolanthe hoped Anfey could maintain his Alibaba mercenary group, since he could help Yolanthe get into the Country of Mercenaries.

"I heard the Empire lost most of the eastern area and only controlled Blackania City now. Did Violet City have a lot of damage?" Anfey asked slowly.

"I am not sure about it," Apa said, shaking his head.

Anfey went quiet. He knew it was hard to understand what was on the king's mind. The reason he finally got what Yolanthe was thinking was due to his street smarts. People with power had much experience fighting for political power. They were far better than Anfey in that sense. He might beat Yolanthe in a physical fight, but even if Anfey were a king, he could be played by Yolanthe.

Anfey wanted neither to turn Yolanthe down, nor bargain with him, especially when he had nothing to bargain with. The only thing he could do was to do better with what he had.

"Black Eleven, can you tell everyone this news?" Anfey asked in a low voice.

"Sure." Black Eleven nodded.

"I need to leave now that I have passed the information to you," Apa said with a smile.

Watching Black Eleven and Apa walking away, Anfey was quiet for a while and said, "Suzanna, if I…"

"No matter where you go, I will go with you," Suzanna said gently but firmly. She sounded like she was promising Anfey something.

It's said that a couple could communicate without words if they were in love. It looked like that had happened between Anfey and Suzanna. Suzanna seemed to know what Anfey was trying to tell her before he could finish his words.

Anfey nodded hard. No matter what he was going to say did not seem enough. All he could do now was to hold Suzanna's hands tight.

Soon a group of people screamed and rushed out of Moramath. The people outside the town were startled by what they saw. Half way up the hill, Niya had been singing a folksong and waving the hem of her dress. She stood shocked and froze in place. She had no idea why people went nuts at the foot of the hill.

The happy crowd surrounded the people outside the town in the blink of an eye. Then they rushed up the hill. Niya learned from different conversations about what had happened and cheered with the crowd. Niya had been through such a tough time. Home is the most warming and comfortable place, and no other place could compare. She lost herself in such joy that she even held her arms out and hugged Christian. Christian looked like he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Anfey watched the crowd joyfully. He thought Yolanthe did very well to win people's hearts. It would not be a bad choice to work for a king like him.

The cheerful crowd moved up to the top of the hill. They did not care if Anfey knew about the victory. They only wanted to pass their joy to everyone around them. Niya started to yell from the distance, "Anfey, we won! We can go home now."

Anfey slowly stood up and wore a smile on his face. In fact, he did not want to look like he could not fit into the happy crowd, but smiling was all he could do. He rarely lost himself since he was a little kid as far back as he could remember. No matter where he was, he would at least keep himself sort of calm. He would never be able to scream, laugh out, and cheer.

Suzanna looked calm as well. The victory of Maho Empire had nothing to do with her. She only wanted everything to go well with Anfey and everyone in the legion.

As it was getting dark, there were bonfires along the hill and on the top of the hill. No one seemed sleepy and just gathered around the bonfires, talking.

Many legions in history were able to win people over and worked together for their shared aims in difficult times. However, they would have different ideas in peaceful times. This was human nature. They would not simply achieve harmony as people wished.

Anfey held Suzanna's hand and they walked together. Anfey overheard people talking here and there. Some people said they had better go to the Forest of Death to hunt some magic beasts to make some gold coins before they went back. These people should be regular civilians.

Others said they would definitely go back right away. They thought they had contributed so much for the country that Philip would not dare to do anything to them. In addition, their master was coming back soon. Niya was one of them.

Still others thought it was fun and exciting to be a mercenary. They felt the Country of Mercenaries was a good place to get experience. They wanted to go back to the Country of Mercenaries after they went back to see their master.

One group said their lives were not stable. They could not do any deep research since they had no magic labs. They hoped to continue their practice under their master's instruction when they went back.

Anfey had been quietly listening to their discussions. He was neither a politician nor a military master, but he knew the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities as they presented themselves. He would put himself in a bad situation if he could not take the opportunities. The reason he could take everyone here and have them listen to him was because of the huge threat from Philip. The fact that survival was the priority for everyone at that time was the "opportunity." Now, everyone wanting to go back to Maho Empire was also an opportunity.

Having different ideas was normal. In philosophy, people want to look for reasons to unite with different voices, since each individual had their own ideas.

"Anfey," Christian's voice rose. "Suzanna, do you want to go back with us?"

"Of course," Anfey answered for Suzanna. "She will go anywhere I go."

Suzanna blushed and pushed Anfey for saying it. Anfey fell on his butt with the momentum from the Suzanna's push. "Come, Christian, let's talk."

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Christian sat across from Anfey with a smile.

"Feller, can you guys leave for a second?" Anfey asked.

"Yes." Feller stood up and patted the dirt off from his butt. He took his whole gang with him and left Christian and Anfey alone there.

"We finally can go home. Isn't it exciting?" Anfey said in a casual tone.

"Of course, how about you? Are you excited?" Christian asked.

"We are in similar situations, Christian. We have come out for a long time. I think your parents must worry about you. Did you contact them?" Anfey asked.

"Anfey, don't beat around the bush; just get to the point. Do you want to ask me where my family is and what my parents do?" Christian smiled. He was a gentle and humble guy, but it did not mean he did not get what Anfey was trying to do to him.

"Can I say something?" Anfey looked at Christian curiously.

"Sure. My family…hmm. My father is a businessman," Christian said.

"He is running a business? What kind of business?" Anfey was shocked for a second, since what he guessed was quite different from what Christian told him. However, he knew Christian would rather dodge his question than lie to him.

"Business. This word is interesting." Christian thought for a moment and said, "A huge business."

"I did not know about it, Christian," Suzanna said in surprise. "Is your family well-known?"

"Yes, my family is indeed pretty well-known," Christian said.

Christian had not told them the name of his family, which usually stopped people from continuing the questions. However, Anfey became even more blunt, "What is your father's name?"

Christian could not help smiling bitterly. He tried, but nothing came out of his mouth.

"Never mind, let me ask you a different question. How big is your family business?" Anfey asked.

"Huge, unimaginably huge."

"I got it." Anfey smiled. What is the largest business in the world? It was not a difficult question. It seemed that his guessing was right.

Chapter 206: Who To Leave Behind

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

In the days that followed, everyone was very relaxed. Black Eleven's men had discovered that Shansa Empire had panicked after learning of Ellisen Empire's defeat. The overall power of Maho Empire was very strong. It had been fighting Ellisen Empire to the north and Shansa Empire to the south. If it could combine the two forces, Maho Empire's army would be very terrifying.

In order to protect themselves, Shansa Empire had ordered all of its troops to retreat from Maho Empire immediately.

General Miorich and the commanders at Blackania City began to execute their plans to end the siege. The army there would began to shift from a defensive strategy to an offensive one. They wanted to eliminate as many enemy soldiers as possible, and take the enemy supply lines. Yolanthe had agreed to the plan, but after the news of that reached Blackania City, the Shansa soldiers had already all retreated. The supplies had been left where they were. Normally, unused supplies should be destroyed during a retreat. Perhaps because they wanted to surprise the Maho soldiers, the Shansa army did not destroy or take any of the supplies with them.

Miorich was full of regret. Half of the mages under his command were dead at that point, and he had ordered an end to scouting missions to ensure the safety of the remaining mages. His job was to secure the city, and he was not planning on attacking the Shansa army. Blackania City was very large, and it would take at least eighty mages to watch the entire city with Eyes of the Sky. These mages would be practically useless in combat because of their magic depletion.

Shansa Empire did not care for Anfey and his crew. There were armies marching through the Transverse Mountain, but no one tried to look for trouble at Moramatch. Shansa Empire would seek retribution, but now was not the time.

Interestingly, after Maho Empire's war was over, the situation in Country of Mercenaries became very tense. The four major mercenary groups had been trying to ally themselves with weaker mercenary groups and trying to find more partners. They seemed to think a country with four leaders was too chaotic, and all four were determined to be the sole leader of the nation. None of the mercenaries had discernible advantages over another, and only time could tell who would become the sole leader of the Country of Mercenaries.

After he had gotten recognition and trust from Yolanthe, Anfey did not try to bother the Shansa army. It was not like his small mercenary band could really make a difference. It was the wiser choice to just observe from a distance.

The others were relaxed, but not Anfey. Ever since he came of age, he had not had a normal day. He was always fighting for something. When he was on the island, he had to train for hours on end to stay alive. Things had not changed much now. He could not relax as long as there was a threat.

The unicorn became more clingy, perhaps even more than Suzanna. When Anfey was meditating, it would sit and watch him. When he went on a walk, it would stay very close to him. When Anfey was sleeping, it had to sleep next to him. Even though Niya, Shally, and Suzanna tried to convince the unicorn to play with them, it would ignore them and stay stubbornly by Anfey's side.

There was one time the unicorn was lying on his chest, trying to eat the leaf hanging from his neck. After a few minutes of futile work, the unicorn lied down again, disappointed. Anfey realized it must have felt the leaf's power, and that was the reason the unicorn was following him.

As Anfey sat under a tree, Christian walked over with Black Eleven. Anfey was reading a book on magic. In order to succeed, he must combine theory and practice, especially when his path was so unusual.

"Anfey," Christian called.

"What is it?"

"The prince and Master Saul are heading back to the city," Christian said softly.

"You're saying we are free to return, as well?"

Christian nodded.

"I'm worried," Anfey said with a sigh. "Who knows if Master Saul will blame me for getting everyone into trouble." What he had done lately proved that he was hiding a lot of secrets, and he did not know how Saul would react if he found out.

"You are worried?" Christian asked with a chuckle. In his mind, Anfey was a considerate and controlled person who was not worried about anything. Everything he did, from killing those men at Saul's place, to inducing chaos in White Mountain City, to attacking the aerial squadron, proved that he was very brave.

Anfey smiled but did not say anything. He was not afraid of threats, but he was afraid of retribution. He had always lived by a very simple set of rules. He would repay kindness with kindness. He treated people coldly because he could not afford any emotional entanglements.

"We should start getting ready," Christian said, sitting down next to Anfey. "There are a lot of things to take care of."

"What about Moramatch?" Black Eleven asked, sitting down on the other side of Anfey.

The unicorn lifted its head, unhappy that Black Eleven had blocked Anfey from its vision. It moved over and squeezed between the two, and lied down again.

"Are there people who want to stay?" Anfey asked. They could not give up Moramatch. He needed a foothold for Maho Empire's future expansion into Country of Mercenaries.

Christian and Black Eleven fell silent at the question. It did not matter if people in the team wanted to return to the Sacred City. Who should they leave behind? Black Eleven had received an order from Yolanthe that requested him to accompany Anfey back to the Sacred City, so he could not volunteer to stay. The person who stayed must be able to handle troubles, should trouble arise.

"Why don't you go back? I will stay," Christian said slowly.

"No," Anfey said immediately. He trusted Christian enough to leave him there, but he would also anger some very important people back in the Sacred City.

"I have a idea," Black Eleven said suddenly.

"Who?"

"Do you remember the woman we saved from the slave holders?"

"We saved a lot of women from the slave holders. Which one are you talking about?" Christian asked.

"The prettiest one," Anfey said. He knew immediately which one Black Eleven was talking about.

"I've talked to her a few times before. She doesn't talk much, but she is a very sensible person."

"When did you talk to her? You didn't have ulterior motives, did you?" Anfey asked, smiling.

"I'm serious," Black Eleven said, waving his hand. As a spy, he was almost as good as Anfey at controlling his desires, perhaps even better. He approached Alice because he was curious about her, and wanted to know more about Shansa Empire.

"Don't you know? She is dangerous," Anfey said slowly.

"Have you noticed? She never tries to initiate conversations, but she always smiles when other people try to talk to her. Have you ever seen her eat?"

"No," Anfey said. "Why should I care?" Anfey was good at observing details, but not with Alice. Perhaps it was because Alice once tried to seduce him, he would try to stay away from her as much as possible. Even if she was sitting in front of him, he would intentionally ignore her. Therefore, he had never really observed her.

"She eats regularly, and every time she eats she is very careful. Sometimes the food was not ideal, and the others would not finish their meals. She, on the other hand, would finish every last bit," Black Eleven said slowly. "She is very healthy. Normally, people in her position would sink into the pit of depression, but she hasn't yet. She wants to live. She won't seek death."

Anfey frowned and tried to recall his interactions with Alice. "You're right," he said, nodding.

"She won't able to return to her homeland again. Being a slave was a shameful thing, and she would be a joke if she ever returns," Black Eleven said. "Anfey, she is homeless. It shouldn't be hard to get her to do as we wish."

"What if…" Anfey said, still hesitant.

"I can leave some of my men here," Black Eleven said. "To protect and keep an eye on her. If she attempts to do something, my men will take care of it. Trust me when I say she wants to live. She won't try to do anything. In the end, she is one person, and even if she does try to do something, she can't cause that much harm."

"Let me think about," Anfey said.

"I think you should go talk to her," Black Eleven said with a smile.

"Me?" Anfey blinked and asked.

Chapter 207: Ungrateful

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

Everybody started to work after the decision was made. Even if a family needed to move, they had so much to pack. A legion with hundreds of people would have much more to do. In addition, they had captured many treasures from the war. When everything added up, they just had so much stuff. Feller was the busiest among them. He was in charge of logistics, so he had to run around to categorize stuff into important, useful, and not important for right now. He did not want to designate his authority to gnomes and dwarves. Dwarves could be trustworthy, but gnomes were cheap and liked to steal things if the opportunity presented itself.

"Can you be in charge when I am gone? Black Eleven and his crew are good with fighting, but they cannot look at issues from different angles. I hope you can help them if something happens. I am just worried they will make trouble," Anfey said slowly.

"Can I really give them commands? Are they going to listen to me?" Alice looked cold.

"Of course", Anfey said.

Alice went quiet. She did not want to argue with Anfey. Anfey seemed confident, but she knew well that they would not listen to her because of who she was. To be more frank, she did not believe what Anfey said. She was not totally sold on it.

"We also have some hired mercenaries. They could die for the money. I was worried that they would make mistakes. Can you watch them?" Anfey was in thought for a while. "I will leave you some gold coins. If something happens, you can use gold coins to ask those mercenaries to work for you."

"Are you leaving those gold coins to me?" Alice asked.

"No, Linfu will hold the gold coins. Whenever you need them, you can ask Linfu. I will introduce you to him in a little bit," Anfey said.

"I see." Alice smiled.

Anfey looked a little awkward. There was saying that one should trust a person in a high position. Anfey wanted Alice to work for him but did not give her any real authority or resources. He could not cover the fact that he did not trust her. He knew there was more to it when Alice said "I see." Anfey felt he had to be careful with Alice. If Alice decided to use all the gold coins Anfey left her to hire those mercenaries, no one would know what would happen. There were good odds there could be internal conflicts in Moramatch.

"If there is anything you cannot handle, retreat to the underground city. Do not fight with them. Wait for us to come back," Anfey said.

"You look like you really care about me," Alice said.

"Of course, I care about you. I care about everyone in our legion." Anfey looked serious, as if he was giving a speech at a press conference. He tried not to say anything that could make Alice have second thoughts.

"Thank you. You are so kind. It was a loss for the church that you could not join the Church of Light," Alice said.

"I am flattered," Anfey answered, a bit awkwardly.

"I heard you have wiped out a Griffin Aerial Unit," Alice said.

"Where did you hear about that?" Anfey asked.

"Everybody seemed happy for the past few days and they gathered and talked. I overheard their conversations." Alice looked off into the distance. "I also heard you are going to receive a Medal of Mars and an estate from Yolanthe. Is it true?"

"Yes", Anfey said.

"Violet City is a beautiful and elegant city. It looks like King Yolanthe likes you a lot," Alice said.

"Hehehe, I have to say I am lucky," Anfey said.

"Many things have nothing to do with luck. You were so brave to take your crew to attack Griffin Aerial Unit. It has proved that you were certain you could win that battle. Everyone knows that how dangerous it can be to attack a Griffin Aerial Unit unprepared. It is nothing different than committing suicide."

"In fact, a Griffin Aerial Unit is not as powerful as you think. It may be because you have lived in Shansa Empire for a long time and heard too many legends about them," Anfey said.

"Really?" Alice shook her head with a smile. "Ok, I am not going to bother you more. Someone is going to get mad at me."

Anfey followed Alice's eyes and saw Niya dragging Suzanna over. Suzanna was telling her something with a smile.

Alice had left when Anfey turned around. She walked around to avoid meeting Niya and Suzanna. Obviously, she did not want to have any conflict with them. In the legion, Alice was not in an advantageous position. If she had conflicts with Niya, no one would be on her side, no matter whether they were arguing or got into a physical fight.

"Anfey, I did not know you are this kind of person," Niya said, staring at Anfey angrily with her hands on her hips.

"What is wrong with me?" Anfey did not know if he should laugh or cry.

"Ok, Niya, Anfey only had something to tell her." Suzanna tried to take Niya away.

"Don't pull me, Suzanna. You are too weak. Don't worry. I got you. No one can do anything to you." Niya beat her chest loudly. She totally forgot how powerful Suzanna was on the battlefield, while she hid in the safest place.

"There are so many people in the legion. Why do you have to talk to that bitch? Tell me, Anfey," Niya said.

Suzanna stuck her tongue out at Anfey with a helpless look. In fact she did not think it was a big deal when Anfey talked to Alice in private. Niya dragged her here. She was worried Niya was going to yell and cause a scene. She had to follow her. She was also concerned Anfey would get mad at Niya and hurt their relationship. She was in such a dilemma.

"Niya, everyone is going back to Maho Empire. We could not leave Moramatch here without anyone taking care of it. I talked to her to see if she could help," Anfey explained.

"Why don't you find someone else for it? Why did it have to be her?" Niya did not believe Anfey. Niya was very possessive, perhaps because she had been spoiled since she was little. When she was dating the second prince Granden, she would get super mad if Granden chatted and laughed with other girls. Now that Niya saw Anfey talking and laughing with Alice, she felt bad for Suzanna. She could not stand any playboy.

"Who else do you want me to talk with then?" Anfey asked.

"Christian, Riska, Blavi, they are more capable than that bitch. Why do you have to ask her to do it?" Niya said.

"Niya, everyone wants to go home. Do you want Christian to stay when we all go back to Maho Empire?" Anfey asked.

"Uh…" Niya was confused and did not know how to respond to Anfey.

"Since you are so against it. Ok, I will apologize to Suzanna. I am not going to talk to that bitch." Anfey pulled Suzanna closer. "But, someone has to be in charge here. Niya, if you are against Alice being in charge, why don't you be in charge?" Anfey said.

"Me?" Niya immediately panicked. "I …but I was never in charge of anything."

"You can learn. No one is born to know how to manage things," Anfey said.

"No, I cannot." Knowing she could go home soon, Niya was so happy that she was even singing in her dream. After Anfey asked her to stay, she looked so disappointed, dark in the sky over Moramatch. She felt bad for Suzanna but now she felt bad for herself.

"Niya." Anfey's voice became very quiet, and he looked very serious. "Think about it, we had you stay in a safe place whenever there was a dangerous situation since we left Sacred City. We had you eat first at dinner. We never asked you to be on watch. Look over there, everyone is busy, but you can walk around. Ask yourself, what have you done for everyone. Nothing. Now it is the time for you to do something for everyone. Can you do it for us?" Anfey asked.

Niya was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to go home so badly, but on the other hand she believed what Anfey said to her was right. She was not a little kid anymore. She could not act like a loser all the time. She needed to prove she could be valuable. What Anfey asked her to do was not too much anyway. He neither asked her to fight with a vicious magic beast, nor asked her to do any impossible mission. He only asked her to stay.

Niya frowned, her eyes got moist and she started sniffling. After awhile, she finally agreed. "Ok, I will stay."

"Are you sure you want to stay?" Anfey actually was a little shocked by Niya's answer.

"Yes, Anfey, can you tell me what I should do?" Niya said with a trembling voice. She wanted to cry, but she could not cry here. Niya planned to go to the back of the hill to cry her eyes out when she was alone.

"Hahaha… Niya, I was joking with you." Anfey suddenly laughed. "If I do not allow you to go back, professor probably will kill me."

"You…Anfey! You asshole!" Niya stared wide-eyed. She jumped as she screamed. She kicked at Anfey.

The kick without combat power could be ignored. Anfey only wanted Niya to feel better. He even backed up few steps and made painful faces.

Suddenly, a white figure passed by as fast as lightening. Niya screamed and stepped back. She held her thigh with a painful face. Anfey faked his painful face, but not Niya.

The little guy stood between Anfey and NIya. The innocent blue eyes now looked cold. The fur behind his neck was blown by the wind. He looked like he was ready to fight.

Anfey did not fool Niya and Suzanna. Niya had wanted to add another kick. The little guy actually got fooled.

"You, ungrateful little unicorn. You are the same as Anfey." Niya was so angry that her fingers started to shake when she saw the little unicorn attack her. She was mad that the little unicorn did not remember the time she took care of him.

"Let's go back." Suzanna hurried off, bending down and patting lightly on little unicorn's hind quarters. She walked back to Niya and tried to comfort her.

"Impulse is the devil." Anfey held the little unicorn in his arms and pointed at his nose a few times. He walked over to Niya. The little unicorn did not look feisty anymore. He lifted his head and looked around. He seemed to understand what happened. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Interesting to know that not only humans knew how to fake sleep to avoid any awkwardness.

Chapter 208: Split

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

The group finally began their journey back to the city. Their caravan, made up of nearly thirty carriages, headed towards Transverse Mountain.

For a man that had been living in the desert, the lushness of the landscape would appear heavenly. For someone who had been living in such a landscape, however, it was nothing to be excited about. No one in the caravan seemed to be interested in the scenery outside. Everyone stayed inside their carriages and chatted.

After seven days of eventless traveling, the caravan left Transverse Mountain behind them. Ahead was a small checkpoint with the flags of Maho Empire.

With Black Eleven and Apa, the caravan quickly passed through the checkpoint and was not inspected. There was a large worksite behind the toll building, with thousands of people scurrying about, digging a deep trench. Maho Empire had learned its lesson, and was about to build a defensive wall that was better at keeping enemies out.

Everyone lifted the carriages' curtains to look at the workers, and the topic of their conversations changed to the recent war. Anfey looked out the window, but did not become excited like the rest of the group. After the carriages left the mountains, his power became very limited. Without forests, the leaf was practically useless.

"What's wrong?" Suzanna, who was very perceptive to Anfey's mood changes, asked.

"I can't see anything anymore," Anfey said. He hid the leaf behind his shirt carefully.

"Don't worry," Suzanna said with a smile. "I'm still here."

"It's alright," Anfey said. "It's just…strange." It was easy for a man to get used to a life of luxury, but it would be hard for him to try and get used to his old life after he had experienced a life of luxury. Anfey was used being able to observe his surroundings, but now that was taken away, he felt strange.

"Black Eleven said that a mansion is already being constructed in Violet City," Suzanna said softly. "We can plant plenty of trees there."

"Don't worry," Anfey said with a smile. "Suzanna, I am leaving tomorrow morning. No one knows except for Black Eleven."

"Where are we going?"

"Violet City."

"Why?"

"To do something we have to sooner or later," Anfey said with a sigh. Due to his occupation, Anfey was very opposed to appearing in front of a large crowd of people. Now, however, it was not up him to decide. After he accepted the medal from Yolanthe, he would become a public figure no matter what he wanted. His mansion could become the center of attention.

At that moment, there were two threats to his and his companions' lives. One was Evil Mist, and the other was Philip. Surely they would try to make a move after hearing that he would be getting a mansion in Violet City. He had to have a plan beforehand.

"I'm going with you," Suzanna announced.

"We have to leave Shally behind, then," Anfey said. "We can't bring her."

Suzanna nodded silently.

"Shally won't get angry that I whisked her sister away again, would she?"

"Don't worry," Suzanna assured him. "Shally understands."

"There may be people waiting for us. We will leave during the night," Anfey said. "Black Eleven will take care of everything."

"What will you do with the unicorn?" Suzanna asked, pointing at the unicorn, who was sleeping next to Anfey.

"It's staying here."

"You can't," Suzanna said. "Didn't you hear what Christian said? The last time you left it went crazy. It was too magically powerful so they couldn't do anything until it got tired."

Anfey scratched his head and frowned. He did remember Christian talking about it.

"Christian set up an array with two magic crystals to trap it while it slept, but it didn't work, and they ended up wasting crystals. It got sick the next day."

"I know. He said that it used up too much energy but it didn't have a way to replenish it," Anfey said.

"That was in the tunnels. It couldn't get out if it wanted to. We are outside, and Christian won't be able to keep an eye on it all the time. He has other things to do. If someone caught it…" Suzanna shook her head and her voice trailed off. She stroked the unicorn. She would not allow it to be captured by people with malicious intent.

The unicorn opened its eyes and stood up. It moved over to door, poked its head through the curtains and whinnied. It was instinctual, done to ward off other powerful magic beasts.

The horses pulling the carriages were only normal horses, and were not familiar with the unicorn. For common animals like horses, it was only natural to fear magic beasts. The horses started and bolted. The carriage lurched forward. Thankfully the driver was very skillful, and managed to remain in control over the horses.

"Stop that, for goodness sake," Suzanna said. She was glowing faintly, and grabbed the unicorn's tail to pull it back into the carriage.

Anfey's body turned and he balanced himself.

"Is everything alright, my lord?" someone outside asked.

"Everything's fine," Anfey replied.

"Keep yourselves under control," Suzanna said sternly, tapping the unicorn's head. She spoke softly, however, and did not sound threatening.

The unicorn looked at Suzanna, and turned its head away. Even though it had been dragged back into the carriage by its tail, it was still a proud creature.

Anfey raised his hand and slapped the unicorn's head lightly. The unicorn whined and lay down on the floor, looking at Anfey fearfully.

Seeing the unicorn's eyes, Anfey sighed and did not hit it again. "Taking it will expose us," he said to Suzanna. It was no longer a secret that his team had an unicorn. A unicorn itself would be a surprising sight and would attract a lot of attention. It would make their journey harder than it needed to be.

"We have to," Suzanna insisted. She was rarely stubborn, but she cared a lot about the unicorn.

"Why didn't it grow up? It's been a while now," Anfey said, frowning. "If it's as big as a horse, we could make a suit of armor for it so it would be harder for people to realize it's a unicorn."

"You can't compare horses with unicorns," Suzanna said. "Horses are too short-lived compared to unicorns. These things can live for hundreds, even thousands of years."

"Are you serious?" Anfey said, his eyes wide. He had talked to other people about the unicorn, but no one ever told him about its life span. "You're not saying that I won't ever get a chance to ride it, are you?"

"Let me think," Suzanna said. "I think it has a three year long infant stage, then it would start growing. I think there is a correlation between its energy intake and the time it matures. We can go ask Hagan and Hui Wei about it. I'm sure they know about it more than I do."

"Let's go later," Anfey nodded and said. He stared at the unicorn and said, "I wish we can just put it in a Dimensional ring."

Suzanna rolled her eyes.

"Anfey," Black Eleven called from outside of the carriage.

"Come in," Anfey said.

Black Eleven lifted the curtain and entered the carriage. He smiled at Suzanna, than sat down on the ground. "I already took care of everything," he said in a hushed voice. "I had my men rent a room in Collow City up ahead. We can leave during the night. Apa will come with us."

This was the difference between Black Eleven and Apa. When Apa was speaking to Anfey, he wanted Suzanna to leave because he did not trust her. When Black Eleven was speaking to him, he did not care if Suzanna was there. He that knew that he could trust Suzanna.

"Him? Who would take care of the caravan if both of you leave?"

"We have already passed all the checkpoints," Black Eleven said. "There shouldn't be any troubles. Apa spent seven years in Violet City, and is more familiar with it than all of us. He will be very helpful."

"Alright," Anfey said, nodding. "I'm afraid we have to take one more with us, though."

"Who is it?"

Anfey looked at the unicorn, who was still crouching on the ground. Black Eleven frowned and said, "It will bring unnecessary troubles."

"It's Lady Suzanna's order," Anfey said. "I do what she says."

"Is it?" Black Eleven said, smiling.

Suzanna blushed and glared at Anfey and Black Eleven, but her gaze was not intimidating at all.

Chapter 209: Amazing Rewards

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

Anfey, Suzanna and their crew quietly left the hotel at midnight. Anfey felt good about leaving, since they should be safe going back to Maho Empire. There were not many things to deal with, except he needed to make arrangements for the female slaves. He believed Christian could totally take care of it for him.

Compared with other people in the legion, the female slaves seemed a little worried about going back to their hometowns. After passin the border, the smiles on their faces were diminishing. They gathered in groups and chatted quietly. It was not an honorable experience to be enslaved. They could not hide that fact they were slaves, since their family and friends had seen them being taken away by the Shansa Empire's soldiers. No one knew what their future would be. People might welcome them or back or make fun of and looked down upon them.

Anfey seemed to have similar feelings to female slaves. He unconsciously wanted to avoid Saul. Anything he had tried to hide from Saul had been exposed. How would Saul see him? In fact, Anfey had decided to secretly go to Violet City this time. This must have to do with his timidity. He was like a test taker who subconsciously wanted to know his grades as late as possible, since he was not so sure about the answers he wrote.

Black Eleven was pretty powerful in White Mountain City and Blackwater City. He was amazingly powerful in this place. He was incredibly efficient when he ran errands for Anfey. Black Eleven had planned everything well before Anfey could even think of it. A wagon with eight horses, an official approval to leave at night, 6-inch-high files with everything Anfey wanted to know, including the Violet City geography after the war, backgrounds and updates of royal families in different sizes, and even the profiles and religions of civilians.

As day broke, the Violet City gate opened. A wagon that had been waiting outside of the city for a while finally slowly drove into Violet City. No one had slept, but all four of them were not regular people, so they did not look sleepy.

"Anfey, do we go directly to your earl's court?" Suzanna asked as she looked around the city in curiosity.

"No, Madam, I have sent people to let the mayor know that you are coming. He will wait for us at the Botanical Gardens," Apa said with a smile. Maybe because he had not forgotten that he had offended Suzanna, or because Suzanna was already a senior swordswoman and could possibly become a master swordswoman, he was very polite to her.

"Botanical Gardens?" Anfey asked.

"It is the name of a hotel. It also has the most beautiful garden in Violet City." Apa thought for a second and said, "Right now we still have enough time. Why don't we drive around the city for a while? This way, master and your wife could know Violet City better. Some things can't be found in the official files."

"Is Violet City large?" Anfey asked in a low voice.

"Not small, master. Look at this map." Apa pointed at the map. "If you walk along the main streets, you would not finish walking all of them until noon."

Anfey looked at the map carefully. There were six main streets, three horizontally and three vertically. Each main street crossed the whole city. If it would take a half day to walk through the main streets, Anfey could figure out the scale of Violet City.

"Such a large city is all mine now?" Anfey asked with a suspicious tone. He did not get too excited when he learned that Yolanthe rewarded him Violet City. When he walked into Violet City today, he was clearly intrigued. Looking through the crack in his window, Anfey saw the street was so long that it seemed to have no end. Anfey thought to himself, "Is this big city all mine?"

Anfey normally had good vision for life, but he was still just a person who owned a condo in the other world. The law said the condo owner only had the property title for seventy years. No one could argue with the law. Anfey was really shocked to see such a big city actually belonged to him.

Anfey had to admit Yolanthe was somebody. People who received Yolanthe's rewards usually were very happy. Only giving out plenty of rewards could make his followers feel grateful and want to work for the country and him. Anfey could not help thinking of the time of Chu-Han rebellion. Xiang Yu had to give out nobility titles to reward his followers. He had rubbed the seal so much that the edges of the seal got rounded, but he still could not decide what kind of rewards he would give out. He was brave like Robin Hood. He shed tears for soldiers, and killed many enemies on the battlefield. He only had military power, but lacked leadership qualities and a generous personality. If he just wanted to be a general, being stingy did not seem to be a problem. However, he wanted to be an emperor. In the end, people betrayed him one after another.

Anfey was shocked by Yolanthe's rewards. He did admire him as well.

"Yes, Master," Apa smiled.

"It will belong to me forever?" Anfey asked.

"Well… Master, your nobility title could not be inherited," Apa answered.

Anfey's excitement was cut in half. This was no better than a seventy-year property title. He was over twenty years old now. Could he live longer than 100 years?

"If you serve our country with distinction, our king is always generous with rewards," Apa added.

"What kind of power do I have in Violet City?" Anfey asked.

Apa explained to Anfey in detail. As the owner of Violet City, he had great powers. He could appoint anyone to be the mayor. He could even be the mayor himself. He could change any rules, but had to follow the laws of Maho Empire. If a city owner killed a person on the street, he could not get away from it according to law. After Yolanthe took over the throne, he spent over ten years demolishing the inheritance system and the impunity in royal families with various tactics and bloody fights. It was like lighting up a candle in dark for a corrupted country. Of course, when royals committed crimes, they would have less serious punishments. A king had to take the royal family's benefits into consideration to avoid any conflict with them. What he did was solely to try to constrain royal families and stop them from committing too many crimes.

Compared with other policy changes he made, the only benefit of this policy change was to help Yolanthe win people's support. If anyone dared to talk bad about Yolanthe, no matter who he was, he could be beaten to death by an angry mob. Compared with other kings, its benefits were more obvious. Both Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire were not politically stable. Shansa Empire only sent a Griffin Aerial Unit to the battle this time because there were riots by a large group of civilians and slaves. The conflicts among different social classes in Maho Empire started to get better. No matter which world, or what time, civilians were usually simple. As long as they had food and could survive, they would not risk their lives to riot.

Seeing Apa's emphasis on strictly following the laws, Anfey was laughing inside. Anfey was able to see further than regular people. Big royal families used to have the authority to make laws, which caused different bills to pass in different cities. Take stealing as example: some thieves could be sentenced to death in some cities, their hands could be cut off in other cities, or taken to jail but also bailed out in other cities. On the one hand, standardizing the laws in different cities could make the country more transparent and prevent royals from harming others. On the other hand, it also foresaw the development of centralization of authority.

Anfey had an idea how strictly laws were enforced. Looking at it from an evil point of view, the criminals were fine if they were not caught. Anfey was an assassin in the other world. He had killed many people, even though he believed those people deserved it. However, he did kill people. From a hypercritical point of view, there were too many loopholes in the law. The lawyers would be unemployed and starving if there were no loopholes in the law. Anfey killed the grandson of Philip and over a dozen of others, but he was considered an honorable person in Maho Empire. Even Maho Empire would argue that Anfey was just killing in self defense, but how could it make sense if he killed more than a dozen of people.

If Yolanthe got to know he tried hard to subdue Philip and removed all the charges against Anfey, Anfey was still so critical about the laws in Maho Empire, Yolanthe probably would become incensed and curse Anfey and his whole family.

While Apa was explaining details to Anfey, he had driven the wagon from the northern wall to the southern wall in Violet City. Anfey looked out of the window to look at the sun. He suddenly asked, "Apa, if I am guessing right, the color of blood red should mean taking action, right?"

"Yes." Apa nodded.

"Are you an assassin?" Anfey asked.

"Hmmm…yes," Apa answered.

"You do not look like an assassin," Anfey said.

"Master, what do you mean by that?" Apa did not get Anfey's comment.

"You covered yourself very well. I could not tell what you do for a living by just talking to you." Although Anfey was smiling, he sneered inside. "What do I mean? I meant you talk too much," Anfey thought to himself.

"Master, you must be joking." Apa shook his head with a smile. "I would have died a long time ago if people could tell what I do for a living."

"Black Eleven, the main part of your job is to seek information, right?" Anfey asked.

"Yes," Black Eleven answered.

"I think you guys should switch jobs. One could really talk and look like a person seeking out information, while the other one always has a poker face and looks like an assassin."

"Me? When did I have a poker face? No, you have a poker face!" Black Eleven rebutted angrily.

"When I just met you, you wore a black cloth on your face. Luckily, I am not a chicken, otherwise I would have been scared to death," Anfey said.

"Had we not just met? I did not know you." Black Eleven felt a little awkward and tried to explain. "And, I have a scar on my face. I could be identified easily because of it."

"You give very short answers too. Look at Apa, he knows how to talk. You should learn from him," Anfey said.

"Ok, ok. I will change, ok?" Black Eleven said with a helpless tone.

Apa smiled in response to Anfey's compliments. Anfey praised him for the talking skills, which in turn made feel uneasy to continue talking.

Chapter 210: Sheriff

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

Apa ordered the caravan to turn and headed towards the inn around noon. According to Apa, the sheriff of the city, Urter, was a very capable man. After the city fell, he hid in the slums with the homeless and the beggars, and thus avoided the Shansa soldiers' search. After the soldiers left, he came out of hiding to maintain order in the city.

Normally, the city would have been plagued by chaos due to the power vacuum. Urter was the one that stabilized the city and prevented further damage.

Violet City was famous for its beauty, but because of the Shansa occupation, it was nothing close to beautiful. The streets were filled with filth, and the homes that lined the streets were mostly destroyed. There were only a few people on street, and their expressions were apathetic at best. Apa told Anfey that out of the two hundred thousand people that had inhabited the city, around three thousand were killed, and over ten thousand were missing. Most of the missing were women between the ages of fifteen and thirty. Over five thousand women were confirmed captured by the Shansa soldiers. Which meant at least five thousand families had lost their daughters and wives.

Anfey asked Apa whether it was possible to find the missing persons, but Apa simply shrugged and said it was almost impossible. The women would not be treated well. If they were sold into slavery, the slave owners at least would not beat and starve them. If they remained with the Shansa soldiers, their fate would be much worse. The siege of Blackania City had been going on for too long, and the soldiers were frustrated. When the soldiers became agitated, they would take it out on the women they kept as prisoners. Many of the women could be found if someone try to dig through the Shansa campsites.

Five thousand was only the number of the confirmed casualties. Maho Empire lost seventeen cities on the eastern front. What would the combined casualties be? The number would be terrifyingly large.

When a kingdom prospered, its people thrived. If a kingdom suffered, however, the people suffer even more. Maho Empire would ask for a large sum of money for retribution, but it would be used on rebuilding cities and armies. The people would not get any compensation for their losses.

Apa jumped out of the carriage first after they arrived at the inn. He knocked on the roof of the carriage and told Anfey and Suzanna that it was safe for them to get off.

Anfey lifted the curtain of the carriage and pointed at a basket. The unicorn looked at Anfey and saw that he was very serious. It stood up and moved into the basket unhappily. In order to avoid trouble, Anfey trained the unicorn to sit still in the basket. Even though the high tier magic beasts were intelligent, the unicorn was still too young to understand the commands.

Suzanna took the basket and covered it with a piece of black fabric. She wanted to talk to Anfey and release the unicorn, but it was not possible. She knew Anfey too well, and she knew that the unicorn's gaze could soften her, but not him.

The four of them walked into the inn. The inside of the inn was quiet and empty. It was a large inn, but all the tables were empty. Two maids were napping on the counter. Hearing footsteps, they started awake and turned, visibly relaxing when they realized it wasn't Shansa soldiers.

The two maids glanced at the three newcomers, and their gazes fell on Suzanna. They were shocked by how beautiful she was, and the fact that she had been spared by the soldiers.

Apa walked over and said something to the maids in a hushed voice. The maids nodded, and one of them turned to lead the three towards the second floor. She stopped in front of a door, and opened it for Suzanna and Anfey. She kept staring at Suzanna, which made her uncomfortable. Suzanna was afraid that the maid would discover what was in the basket.

Black Eleven closed the door behind him, shutting out the prying eyes of the maid. The first thing Suzanna did was take the fabric off of the basket and let the unicorn jump out. Even though it had only been confined to the basket for a short amount of time, it was unbearable for a magic beast who loved freedom.

"Sir, do you need anything?" the maid outside asked timidly.

"Not yet," Black Eleven said. "Apa, where is that sheriff? Shouldn't he be waiting for us?" Black Eleven already knew what was going to happen. Yolanthe had ordered him to help Anfey in his future endeavors, which meant he must look out for him. Anfey was the new lord of this city, and it was very rude to keep him waiting.

"I don't know," Apa said with a shrug. "He's busy. Maybe he got held up."

Black Eleven shook his head disapprovingly and sat down on a nearby chair.

After a few moments, a knock came. Apa walked over and opened the door.

A man in his mid-thirties walked into the room. He smiled at Apa apologetically. "I apologize," he said, "for my lateness. We've just discovered some bodies and I was needed at the scene."

Anfey looked at the man. Judging from his appearance, he was just an ordinary person. No one, however, acted the way the looked. There were many things, such as body language and expressions, that could be used to judge a man's characters.

After he jumped out of the carriage, Anfey had observed his surrounding. The streets were almost empty, and there were no carriages on the road. Even if the sheriff had arrived as soon as they entered the inn, he would still not knock on the door this fast. He was either already around, or already in the inn.

"I shouldn't be the one you are apologizing to," Apa said with a smile. He glanced at Anfey and said, "This is Urter, the sheriff of Violet City."

The unicorn walked over curiously and looked at Urter. Suzanna stood and called, "Come here."

The unicorn bounced back to Suzanna and rubbed itself on her leg. It knew very well that it should never anger Suzanna. If it angered Anfey, Suzanna would try to protect it. If it angered Suzanna, no one would protect it from Anfey's anger.

Urter narrowed his eyes. Everything, from the way it walked to its speed, indicated that it was not just a common pet. What kind of men keep unicorns as pets?

"Please wait for a few moments. I have some things I need to take care of," Urter said. He walked over to the door and called down the corridor, "Don't wait for me."

"Yes, sir," someone outside replied.

Urter closed the door behind him and glanced at the people in the room. His eyes fell on Anfey. "What did you want to talk about, my lord?"

"Let's sit and talk," Anfey said.

"No, no. I am quite alright standing, if that does not bother you," Urter said, smiling.

"Just sit down," Suzanna said. She pulled out a chair for Urter and smiled at him. It was strange to go from a mercenary to the lord of a city. Suzanna was still getting used to it.

"Thank you, thank you," Urter said. He glanced at Anfey, then sat down slowly.

"I'm not going to waste anytime," Anfey said. "I'm Anfey, and I need some information, since this will be my home from now on."

Urter's eyes widened. "You're Lord Anfey, then?" Due to political needs, Yolanthe had described Anfey as a hero. He was fearless, and was ready to face challenges such as the Griffins Aerial Squad. Urter now knew what kind of men kept unicorns as pets.

"You know me?" Anfey asked. He wasn't sure what Yolanthe had done, and was surprised. Even if Urter had found out he was the lord of Violet City, he should not be that shocked.

Chapter 211: A Masterpiece of a Sword

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

"Everyone in Maho Empire has heard about your achievements, your honorable master. I do not know what you exactly would like to know," Urter said.

"Hmmm, important stuff, anything you think is important," Anfey said.

"Important?" Urter gave it some serious thought. "Master, the priority for Violet City right now is to rebuild the city. The budget is very tight. I could not do anything without funding."

"That is not right," Apa said in surprise. "The empire has allocated money to the fallen cities. How could the budget be so tight?"

"Master Apa, Violet City is a special case. Some of the allocation was already spent. The rest of the funds could not be touched," Urter said.

"What did you do with the money? Urter, you did not pocket the money, did you?" Apa asked in a joking tone.

"I do not have guts to do that, Master Apa." Urter glanced at Anfey out of the corner of his eye. He hesitated for a second and said, "I spent the money on Earl's Court. The Earl's Court project just started; and we might need to put more into it later on. I wouldn't dare divert the money to do anything else."

Apa was silent after hearing what Urter told him. Earl's Court was built for Anfey. Usually the royal families with estates had to build their houses with their own money, but Anfey's case was a little special. Anfey had not been in the Violet City. Urter asked permission from Yolanthe to build Earl's Court for Anfey, so he did not do anything wrong. It was also wrong to say he used his power to kiss his boss's ass.

Anfey was shocked for a second but did not say anything. If he was asked about the structure of the human body, how much weight bones, joints, and tendons could take, the flexibility of blood vessels, nerve distribution and other things, he would have a very deep understanding of them and explain in every possible detail. However, when it came to managing a city, he had so many things to learn. It seemed a little inappropriate to build his own house with the budget for the city. It also seemed to be a problem for Anfey to figure out a reason or way to criticize Urter or finish the conversation smoothly. He felt he would be laughed at if he were not careful.

Urter felt it was not appropriate to talk about it and looked regretful that he had brought it up. He lowered his head and was quiet.

After a short silence, suddenly it sounded loud outside of the wagon. Everyone could clearly hear a person yelling crazily, "Where is Urter? Where is that a*#hole mayor?"

After hearing a female attendant begging him in panic, the person's voice sounded closer to them. The door of the room was kicked open. A young man in his early twenties in fancy clothes, followed by his bodyguards, came into the room.

"Master Shamash, what are you doing?" Urter stood up with anger.

"What am I doing? You took my people yesterday. Why don't you ask yourself what you did?" That young man pointed at Urter with a horsewhip. The horsewhip almost touched Urter's nose. The young man got even madder. "You are f*#king nobody to me. When the Shansa Empire's soldiers took over Violet City, what were you doing? You hid in a beggar's house. How can you claim you are our mayor?"

The bodyguards behind the young man laughed out loud. The face of a person in mage uniform changed when he saw the little unicorn watching everyone.

"Master Shamash, we can talk in my office later if you want. Right now I have guests. Can you leave now?" Urter took a deep breath and said slowly.

"Guests? I know your master has come to support you. F*#k off. Let me see who your bastard master is?" The young man pushed on Urter's chest and Urter stumbled back. The young man walked to the table like he was the owner of the hotel. He looked condescending and looked over Anfey and his crew.

Anfey and his crew wore different looks on their faces. Apa smiled without saying anything; Black Eleven looked cold; Anfey lazily sat to the side with his eyes only slightly open; Suzanna quietly watched Anfey. These four people all had stories. Even though they had different personal networks, none of them thought the young man was a match for them. Obviously, they did not even bother to respond to him.

The guy in the mage uniform stepped forward and pulled the young man aside. He whispered something to the young man. The young man suddenly turned around, yelling, "Is that a unicorn?"

That mage obviously did not expect the young man to act so inappropriately. The mage looked a little awkward. He nodded and whispered, "Yes, it is a unicorn."

"Nice, very nice." The young man looked at the little guy greedily. He walked back to the table and looked at Anfey, as he was the owner of the hotel. "I represent the Sacred Magic Academy and come to take this little unicorn. Of course, I will reimburse you with a reasonable price. Name a price."

Rookies usually dared to do anything since they did not realize the risks ahead of them. Any person with some experience could immediately tell that the owner of the unicorn would not be a nobody, but that young man wanted to take possession of the unicorn.

"Never mind the price. You can take the unicorn if you want," Anfey said casually.

"You are such a nice person," the young man laughed aloud. He did not notice that Anfey did not talk to him in formal and respectful language. He did not notice Suzanna had put her hand on the sword shaft either. He turned around and yelled at his bodyguards, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get the unicorn."

Two bodyguards approached the little unicorn with their arms open. They looked like they were trying to catch a little chicken. The little unicorn felt the hostility from them. The unicorn looked around and suddenly ran away. The little unicorn ran so fast that he looked like a white light. The little guy jumped on the table and ran into Anfey's arms. Now the little unicorn became confident and growled with his head raised up.

The two bodyguards saw their opportunity and ran to Anfey. Suzanna stood up. A cloud of shiny sword radiant suddenly appeared. The bodyguard running in front coved his throat with his hands and stumbled. The blood from his throat dyed his clothes red in the blink of an eye, and he fell on the floor. The other bodyguard stopped himself when he saw what had happened to the first bodyguard. He stared at the body of the other bodyguard and stood frozen to the floor. Suzanna did not continue to attack him.

A masterpiece of a sword was always a masterpiece of sword, no matter whether it was hung in the palace for people to admire or laid in a corner forgotten for hundreds of years. Once it was out of the shaft, nothing could cover its shininess.

Suzanna was a master swordswoman. She had indulged herself in dating for the past few days and looked even more sweet and girly for that reason. People usually could tell she was in love, but once she pulled her swords out, she changed into a totally different person. Jaguar was not enough to describe her viciousness, lightening was not enough to describe her speed, with sword pointing at someone, she was ready for the fight. She looked determined to win the fight.

Besides Anfey, Black Eleven knew Suzanna the best. After hearing Anfey saying "You can," Black Eleven already foresaw this happening. He shrugged and leaned back to sit against the back of the seat. He was ready to watch a show.

Apa was shocked and stared, his eyes wide. He had showed enough respect to Suzanna, but that was mainly because of Anfey. He had seen many bloody scenes, but never expected a slight girl could become a vicious swordswoman in the blink of an eye without giving any signs. The last time he saw Suzanna, she was still watching Anfey with a lot of love, but his impression of her totally changed the next second.

The mage nervously moved back a step and chanted as he held his wand. Anfey sat reclined on the chair, but he suddenly looked up and stared at the mage's throat. If Suzanna looked brave and vicious, then Anfey looked cold as ice.

The mage felt something stuck in his throat and had goosebumps all over him. He could not suppress the scare feeling and stopped his chanting. He desperately put down his wand.

"Uh!" The young man jumped as an arrow hit him in the rear. He grabbed Urter and yelled, "They killed people. You f*#king mayor, didn't you see it? They killed people! Why don't you catch them?"

Urter looked at Suzanna with a bitter smile, and then he pushed the young man forcefully. He said coldly, "I did not see anything."

"You f*#king…" The young man crazily threw himself at Urter, but he was pulled back by the mage.

"Before I get mad, get the f*#k out of here," Anfey said

The young man struggled and tried to go after Anfey. The mage held tight onto the young man and tried very hard not to let him go as he whispered something to him. The young man finally calmed down and gave a dirty look to Anfey, yelling, "Let's go."

After the troublemaker left, the face of the female attendant outside changed when she saw the body on the floor. She hurried over to close the door.

"Is your name Urter? Take a seat," Anfey pointed at a chair.

"Thank you, master." Urter slowly took a seat. He apologized, "I am sorry. It was all because of me. I am sorry for that."

"Do you know why I was not mad before?" Anfey asked.

"Well, you are a mayor and did not want to fight with a nut." Urter tried to please Anfey with smiles.

"You are wrong." Anfey smiled. "I was not mad only because there is someone who pissed me off even more."

"Master, are you saying…" Urter was shocked.

A knife appeared in Anfey's hand. The next second, Anfey had nailed Urter's hand to the table with the knife. Urter could not help moaning in pain. Apa jumped as he saw what happened. "Anfey, what are you doing?"

Suzanna laid her eyes on Apa, but she did not say anything. Apa did not seem like he was able to take the pressure Suzanna gave him. He was not sure Suzanna would do anything to him. He slowly took a seat at the end. He looked at Black Eleven and hoped Black Eleven could help him and say something for him. However, Black Eleven looked as if he had not seen anything happen and kept quiet.

Chapter 212: Future

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

Urter's body shook with pain, and his forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. His wounded hand could barely move, and the hand that was applying pressure was shaking. What was even more surprising was that Urter could still control himself. If it was a common man, he would be screaming in agony. "Why?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Do you really want me to tell you why?" Anfey asked, frowning.

Urter took a deep breath and stared at the wound on his hand.

"You showed up as soon as we did. Then that Shamash guy showed up almost as soon as you did. Don't you think it's a little suspicious?" Anfey asked. "Also, tell me. What did you mean by 'dog owner'?" Even though he wasn't sure how Urter did it, Anfey was certain that there was a grudge between Urter and Shamash. Urter was trying to show Shamash that he had support from Anfey; or else Shamash would not have said what he said when he came into the room.

Urter smiled and shook his head. The blood from his wound had already spread across the table, but he made no move to remove the dagger.

"Truthfully speaking, I hate being used. Take this as a warning. Next time it won't be your hand," Anfey said. He stood up slowly and ripped the dagger out of Urter's hand. "Come, let's go," he said. He did not want to talk to the man anymore. He disliked being lied to and used.

Urter's body tensed, and his breath became ragged. Anfey did not look at the man, and began walking out of the room. "Wait," Urter called just as Anfey reached the door. "I have something I need to tell you."

"Is there the need for that?"

"Yes."

Anfey frowned and hesitated. He turned and walked back to the table, "what do you want to tell me?"

"Shamash is the sixth son of Marquis Djoser. After the Shansa soldiers occupied Violet City, the Marquis led skirmishes against the soldiers and paid dearly. Five of his sons were killed. Shamash is the only one left."

"Why should I care?" Anfey asked, smiling.

"Why shouldn't you?" Urter asked.

Anfey frowned. He had never met anyone who act so calmly after their plan had been foiled. Urter looked like he was telling the truth, and had important reasons to do so.

Anfey sat back down and looked at Urter. "Tell me then. Why should I care?"

"If you know anything about the history of Maho Empire, you should know that Marquis Djoser's ancestor was one of the ten men that helped found the nation. The family has the badge to prove it, and it had hereditary powers. The family has been going downhill since then. However, it still had significant influence here and in the Sacred City."

Anfey frowned. What Urter was saying sounded like useless babble, but no one would say useless things when his blood was dripping onto a table. Anfey listened carefully.

"The Marquis only had a few dozen soldiers, and there were over seven thousand Shansa soldiers camping here after the city fell. The Marquis, logically, could not do much, though he did sacrifice five sons. Do you think His Majesty should honor him?"

"Of course."

"There are a dozen counts in this city, and only one marquis," Urter said, staring at Anfey. "Marquis Djoser had sacrificed almost everything, and the only things he got were some coins and some land. Violet City went to you, my lord, a count. Which means that, unless the Marquis hides in his land and refuses to leave, he would have to answer you."

"You're saying he is jealous?"

"It's not only the Marquis. The counts are jealous as well," Urter said. He tried to smile, but his muscle twitched. "Jealousy is enough to twist a man's mind, my lord. You are not in a very good situation right now."

Anfey frowned. He knew that Urter was right. His future was unclear at best.

"Do you know how large Marquis Djoser's land is, my lord?" Urter asked. "Only sixty acres. Not even a third of the city."

"You are trying to start a fight between me and Shamash because of this?" Anfey asked, smiling.

"I only hope you can be more cautious, my lord," Urter said slowly. "Don't be fooled by half-hearted kindness, my lord. I've only been here for three years, but I already know this city very well."

"Why are you helping me, then?"

"Because I am the sheriff, and I can never stand on neutral ground. Whenever something happens, I am the first to go down," Urter said, shrugging. "I just want to pick the more capable side."

"You think I'm more capable?"

"Like I've just said, my lord: I know these people. The only thing the Marquis has is his reputation. He is far from capable, just like his sons. His sons were killed not because they were fearless but because they were lustful cowards."

Anfey lifted a brow. "Why is that?" he asked.

"They've long been eyeing a young girl from the outskirts of the city, but couldn't do much during the peaceful years for fear of punishment. After the Shansa soldiers arrived, they took the poor girl among the chaos. The girl's lover was enraged and joined the Shansa army. With someone who knew the city, none of the Marquis's sons escaped. I don't know how Marquis Djoser reported what had happened, but I know that he did not report honestly." Urter paused. He glanced at his hand and continued, "I've heard about what you did, my lord. I know you are much more capable than the Marquis will ever be. I know now that you are someone who does not hesitate."

Even though he had already admitted everything, Urter was still shaking, partially due to fear. He had encountered very few men that were as brutal as Anfey. If he was aiming for his heart, Urter was sure he would be dead by now. Perhaps that was why he was able to kill Philip's grandson. He was less like a politician and more like a killer.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Would you have believed me, my lord?"

Anfey fell quiet. After he realized that Urter was trying to create a grudge between him and Shamash, he picked intimidation, which had always worked for him. Now, however, he realized how naive he had been. If he was older, he would not have chosen such a way to deal with the situation. In the end, intimidation would change nothing. His enemies would remain his enemies, but he could destroy potential friendships. By intimidating his enemies, he could warn them to be more careful. This was a terrible way to approach a situation like this.

"I have to be honest with you now, Anfey," Apa suddenly said. "I've known Urter for years now. We trained together once, but because of a strange condition he could not use magic or combat power. They let him go in the end, and he became the sheriff of Violet City," Apa said. He knew both sides in the fight, and because of that he was in a very awkward situation. He knew he had to lessen the tension. "Urter, why didn't you just tell me? I can always talk to them for you."

"Did it get your bones?" Black Eleven asked, pushing himself up. He found some healing potion and began working on Urter's wound.

"Well, I know how to work with you now, Lord Anfey," Urter said with a forced smile. "Everyone thinks they owe me a favor, which is a good thing for me in the long run."

Anfey did not say anything. He stared at Urter, observing his expressions. Urter's explanation had made sense. If he had ulterior motives, it was impressive that he was able to come up with this explanation in a short time. Anfey decided he would trust the man for now.

"Is your relationship with the Marquis always so strained?" Anfey asked.

"Very," Urter said naturally. "Which is why I wanted to help you, my lord. If it wasn't for the sudden invasion of Shansa Empire, they might have already found a way to throw me out of the city."

Anfey nodded. He trusted Urter more than he did a few minutes ago, but still not completely. He had seen too many people to completely trust anyone. Even among his team, there were only two or three people he could completely rely on.