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Chapter 273: Forever Benefits

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

"The angel was too powerful." Slanbrea heaved a sigh. "So…"

"You are right. The angel was too powerful, otherwise a priest of Light would not listen to her." Someone said that before Anfey could even speak. A middle-aged mage suddenly appeared about a dozen yards behind Slanbrea.

"May I ask who is speaking?" Slanbrea raised his eyebrows and said coldly. His body slowly turned around. Suzanna, standing next to him, grabbed her sword.

"Master, I am just a regular mage who wants to spend his whole life on magic," that mage said with a smile. He turned to take a look at Suzanna. "Is she the product of God's Punishment? It is too bad."

Niya was surprised first, and then the corners of her mouth curled up when she saw that middle-aged mage. It looked like even her eyebrows were smiling. As she was ready to call him, Christian lightly tugged on Niya's sleeve. Niya realized what Christian signaled her. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand. At the same time, Slanbrea had already turned around, otherwise he would have seen Niya's face. It would be easy to guess who that middle-aged mage was.

"Too bad? What do you mean?" Slanbrea looked very cautious because Instant Transportation was a magic regular mages could not master. A mage with Instant Transportation magic could be a pain for his opponents. Instant Transportation magic did not need magic coordinates. It could transport people with telepathy a short distance in any direction. The stronger the magic was, the further it could transport. If swordsmen or knights fought against a mage with Instant Transportation magic, the chances for them to win were slim.

Slanbrea did not know Entos was very interested in Levitation, Instant Transportation, Fourth Dimensional Door and other magic that could help him escape. His Instant Transportation magic was almost as good as Saul's. Entos had brought people back to his home country and got ambushed by a group of people. If he had fled with the Instant Transportation magic as they ambushed him, he would have not gotten hurt at all. Even if Philip was there, attacking him, he would not get hurt either. However, to save his companions, he had to stay and fight with them. He did not flee with the Instant Transportation magic until he realized the situation was so bad that more than half of his companions got hurt or died and he was seriously injured.

Entos was very special in terms of his magic study. For example, he was interested in Transformation Magic and made friends with some druids, which was against his will, to discuss the principle of Transformation Magic. He was more interested in transforming into rats, snakes, birds than wolves and bears, which made others not know whether to laugh or cry. His study failed at the end though.

Among the few top powers in the Country of Mercenaries, Entos was the most mysterious one. No one knew about his real fighting ability because he was rarely the main force in a physical fight and turned other top powers' challenges down. Of course, if the challengers were not top powers, he would take the challenge.

"You know what I meant by too bad." Entos smiled. He slowly walked around Slanbrea and stood right between Anfey and Slanbrea. At that moment, Anfey almost could not suppress his rage and was ready to fight Slanbrea. He had to have the control over him before he could even ask him anything because he would not just tell Anfey the answers. Slanbrea was a Priest of Light, but Anfey felt he could beat him since Slanbrea was hurt.

People were not machines. Nobody could be absolutely calm. The reason Anfey was able to stay calm in difficult times and in dangerous situations was that he could take a lot of things. However, what he could take was limited. As he saw his wife-to-be turned into a monster, even a coward would just let Slanbrea go. Calm? F*#k it!

Anfey was shocked for a second when he saw the middle-aged mage block the shortest and fastest way to attack Slanbrea. He thought the mage was conspiring with Slanbrea. Reading between the lines, it did not seem he could be on Anfey's side.

"I don't get it." Slanbrea shook his head.

"I am just curious. I studied Light magic, but only a little bit. You are a Priest of Light. Would it be possible you know less than me?" Entos said, smiling. "You made a mistake. Why didn't you let the angel fall on you?"

Christian and Black Eleven looked surprised.

Entos looked around and realized what Christian and Black Eleven were surprised about. He said, "You guys do not need to think it was weird. The angel was neutral. Hm…in other words, it could either male or female. Our Priest of Light, Slanbrea, could take the glory of the angel."

Slanbrea's face did not change at all, but he was shocked inside. God's Punishment was a top secret in the Church of Light. Besides few archpriests, regular priests never had the chance to know about it, not to mention study it. This middle-aged mage knew about their top secret magic, which made Slanbrea want to kill him. He wanted to order Suzanna to start the attack to shut him up. However, Saul had already come. This mage could be a person Saul brought with him. His Instant Transportation gave him headaches as well. Slanbrea had to hide his intention of killing this mage.

Slanbrea indeed had a secret mission. Yolanthe, Evil Mist, and Pope William were all interested in Anfey. There had been no supreme powers on Pan Continent for many years. Whoever got control over Anfey and found out his secret would have the ability to control the world. Church of Light had always dreamed of spreading its religion all over the Pan Continent. They would not let this opportunity go.

The problem was they did not know how to control Anfey. The friendship Slanbrea built in the fights with Anfey was not enough. Pope William concluded from all the information he collected from many sources that Anfey was cunning and low key. It would not be easy to have control over Anfey or have him volunteer to work with the church. The best way was to control the people around Anfey. After close observation, Slanbrea thought Suzanna was the closest one to Anfey. He used the excuse that the angel was too powerful and had to ask the Pope for help removing the magic from Suzanna. He planned to ask Suzanna to go back to the palace with him. Anfey would definitely worry about her and ask to go with her to the palace. Once they got to the palace, things would be much easier.

He did not know the sudden appearance of the middle-aged mage would ruin his whole plan. He did not talk about removing the magic from Suzanna, but strategically focused on the reasons why he asked Suzanna to take the glory of the angel. This completely broke the trust he had built with Anfey. His plan would definitely not work now.

Everybody went quiet for a short period of time. Each of them thought about totally different things. Suddenly, Niya screamed, "Dad!" Niya had already run towards the woods like a young bird seeing her dad flying back.

"Professor," Christian bowed as he greeted Saul.

Anfey's body suddenly froze. He knew he would see Saul soon. The timing of Saul's appearance was awkward and made him feel uneasy. If he missed this opportunity to talk about it, things could get messy. As a student of Saul, he could not just stay there without greeting him. That would be too rude. Anfey slowly turned his body around, but still watched Slanbrea out of the corner of his eye. He had thought about how to talk to Saul when he saw him, but now his mind went blank.

"Archmage Saul, you finally came." Slanbrea heaved a sigh of relief.

Saul still looked good. His gown was neat and clean, his hair combed very tidy, the wrinkled eyes had loving smiles. He reached his hand out and rubbed Niay's hair. When he turned to look at Slanbrea, his smile disappeared. "Slanbrea, I have heard what you said. I think you should give us an explanation and give Anfey an explanation."

Anfey suddenly had the urge to cry. His eyes were moist. He wanted to start the fight with Slanbrea because he held so much anger towards him. He dared not think about the consequences of doing that. The Church of Light had kept Yolanthe in low profile and kept Evil Abyss in the dark. They must be really powerful. The moment he started the fight with Slanbrea, he could have been on the wanted list on Pan Continent. He would be no better than a necromancer, but he had no other choice.

Anfey felt it was just not fair. He only wanted justice for his wife-to-be. He could not have other people's understandings and could be considered a sinful person. What he had done was nothing other than trying to survive. When he learned a little more about Pan Continent, he only wanted to live a better life under the protection of a person with power and influence. Was it too much to ask? Why were there always people who wanted to set him up. Even the people who were his allies and fought together with him shoulder by shoulder had evil intentions towards him.

Hearing what Saul said, Anfey was so grateful. Saul was so important that he did not only represent himself, but a group. The demand from Saul was politically sensitive. Anfey could not express how grateful he was when Saul demanded an explanation from an Archpriest of Light for him.

Slanbrea was shocked for a second and smiled bitterly. He did not think a gentle man, Saul, could be so aggressive and cold.

Most people thought Saul was such a perfect man. He was nice, knowledgeable, honest, helpful, but not ambitious. His reputation was only less than Yolanthe in Maho Empire. No one was perfect, neither was Saul. He was very protective. Niya was not that powerful, but very influential in Sacred City. The only grandson of Philip, Zeda, was a bully, but dared not make trouble for Niya because of Saul's protectiveness. Niya even gave him a few lessons. Zeda chose to take it. Someone instigated him to make troubles with Niya. He did not dare take his people to Saul's house to make trouble until Saul left Sacred City. Ignorant Zeda died only because he wanted revenge on Niya.

Chapter 274: Calculating

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

"This is your fault, my lord," Entos said. "Should a problem arise, we should try to find a solution as fast as possible. Denial will not only not solve the problem, it will worsen it."

Entos's tone was gentle, but his words made Slanbrea feel frustrated. For him, Entos's attitude was very irritating. He narrowed his eyes and was about to say something when Saul took a step forward and said, "Do you have a solution, Entos?"

"Yes," Entos said, bowing. "As you know, Master Saul, I always enjoy discussing topics relating to humanity and our existence. It is easy to understand a normal man, but it is the stubborn ones that are interesting. Their minds shift and change, filled with contradictions and foolishness. These are the minds I love. Therefore…" Entos grinned and turned his gaze to Slanbrea.

"When will you start being serious?" Saul frowned and interrupted Entos. He knew that the young man wanted to take this opportunity and humiliate the Church of Light, but his words may cause strife between him and one of the most powerful men in the world. Saul was a righteous man, and he knew what was appropriate to say under what circumstances. Even if he did make Slanbrea his enemy, he would not humiliate him, either.

"You are always right, Mast Saul," Entos said, smirking.

Slanbrea realized who Entos was after hearing him refer to Saul as master. Of course, Saul's student was already infamous. When he was dealing with the nobility of Ellisen Empire, Slanbrea had heard several times that a real archmage should not have a student like Entos. Entos's words were infuriating, but Slanbrea chose to ignore them. He did not have the power to remove the Divine Punishment spell, and the only way out was to ask the pope.

"Tell me about your plan," Saul said.

"Divine Punishment is a hard spell, my lord. The success rate is low enough, but combined with the rigid requirements, it is almost impossible for most of the population to endure this spell. If a person is a commoner, the strength of the angel would decrease significantly. If the power of a person is too great, the person may overpower the angel. An angel in spirit form cannot do whatever it wants. Powerful men like yourselves would be dangerous to these angels."

"Get to the point," Saul snapped. He never lost his patience with his students, but Entos was an exception. He knew Entos too well. When he was with others, Entos would act his age, but when he was with Saul, he would act like a child. Saul knew he had to be stern with him.

"It's easy. The angel's form is contained in the Scepter of Light. You can banish the angel if you destroy the Scepter."

Slanbrea frowned at Entos's comment. There should less than five people who knew the Scepter's secret, and they were all leaders within the Church. Slanbrea could not fathom who had spilled the secret. Slanbrea wished he could simply kill Entos and keep this secret, but Saul was present, and his hands were tied.

Before Maho Empire and Ellisen Empire went to war, many thought Saul was no match for Newyoheim. Even the pope chose to simply observe. Yolanthe was too stubborn and had rejected the Church's advancement. Ellisen Empire was much more open in comparison. The pope had favored Ellisen Empire from the beginning, but he did not choose a side. In the end, Saul shocked everyone by defeating Newyoheim. This showed how much he had grown, even though Saul did not care about politics and his rank.

The nations had came to a truce because of the return of the necromancers. The nations felt the need to band together against a common threat. Moreover, this was to prevent Yolanthe from further expanding his power.

"That should be easy," Saul said quietly.

If Entos's statement came as a shock, then Saul's came as a blow to Slanbrea. The Scepter of Light was a holy artifice in the Church of Light, and what did it mean to destroy something regarded as holy by the religion with the most believers in the world? Wars, revenge, countless deaths. Was Saul really willing to take responsibility that would claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of people?

"It is easy," a voice said as a figure stepped into the clearing. Ernest appeared through the light, his entire body covered with light, as if wearing an armor of light. He walked slowly and confidently, but was in front of Slanbrea within seconds.

"This is the Church's holy artifice," Slanbrea said, taking a step back. "I will not give it to you."

"You can stay," Ernest said. "I don't mind."

Slanbrea took a deep breath. He knew that Ernest had spent a lot of time with Saul lately, and he was the only one who dared to talk to Slanbrea this way. Slanbrea always knew that there was no way to reason with the brute. If Ernest wanted to do something, only death could stop him. Slanbrea stared at Saul, and finally said, "I hope you can calm down, Lord Saul." He did not want to further excite Saul.

"Look who's talking," Entos said mockingly. "It's not a situation where we should calm down. You are at fault here. One of our people is furious."

Slanbrea felt his body growing cold, and turned his gaze to Bruzuryano. If words were losing their power, then the only thing he could do was to fight. However, the curse placed on him by the necromancers was still bugging him. The only way he could win was to enlist Bruzuryano's help.

Bruzuryano had already transformed back into his human form. He lifted his head when he felt Slanbrea's gaze, then lowered his eyes again and shook his head slightly. Everyone was selfish, and Bruzuryano was no exception. He had let Anfey borrow the Heart of Nature not only because he was good friends with Saul, but also because he needed connections. Everyone loves secrets, and even if they could not be the only one who knew the truth, they could at least share it. He was a religious leader as well, but the followers of Goddess of Nature tended to be more passive and would not seek glory the way followers of the Church of Light did. The two religions were examples of passiveness and aggressiveness when it came to their ways of life. A majority of Goddess of Nature's followers resided in Maho Empire, more than followers of the Church. If Bruzuryano really helped Slanbrea now, he would make Saul his enemy, and he knew Yolanthe and Saul would not hesitate killing all those followers of Goddess of Nature.

Slanbrea was, of course, in the wrong. He had made the plan to lure out the necromancers using Saul's students in order to make himself more famous and win glory for his church. He did not even wait to defeat the necromancers to put another plan into action. He kept everyone in the dark, as well. Slanbrea wanted to keep the secrets to himself, and did not treat Bruzuryano with the proper respect.

"Fine," Slanbrea spat. He suddenly remembered what his teacher once told him, that he focused too much on creating plans to win himself glory and it would one day destroy him. He learned what would happen to someone who was not cunning. A cardinal who could use the ultimate forbidden spells without the help of the papal crown would surely be seen as a threat to the pope and his power. In the end, Slanbrea's teacher was framed for crimes he did not commit and was incarcerated.

Who knew his words would one day come true? If he wasn't so calculating, maybe everyone would walk away from the situation unscathed. Now it was too late. There were only two ways to end the effects of Divine Punishment. One was to destroy the scepter, the other was to ask the pope for a blessing. Ernest and Saul obviously chose the quicker route. For them, asking the pope for blessing was too much work.

Slanbrea suddenly waved the scepter in his hand. If he was facing another foe, the best option might have been to hide the scepter away in his dimensional ring and defend the honor of the Church. However, he knew that was not a good plan, since his opponent was Saul. He knew the structure of dimensional rings too well for that plan to work. As long as he was alive, Saul would know how to open a separate dimension that would lead into his dimensional ring.

Saul stepped forward and shielded Niya with his body as the bright ball of light appeared. "Why?" he asked Slanbrea with a sigh. Slanbrea did not reply. Saul's magic staff was still in his hand, and as he waved his staff, a dozen wind blades shot towards the ball of light. He knew what state Slanbrea was in. Light magic could overpower death magic, but a powerful enough necromancer could defeat a light mage, as well. Even if he was facing a cardinal of light in his prime, Saul knew he could still win. After all, elemental magic was more powerful than light magic. Slanbrea could not pose a threat to them.

Suzanna started moving as well. However, before she could reach the battle, Ernest had already stopped her. Two swords clashed with a loud thud, and a ball of light enveloped the two. Both of them took a few steps back, but Ernest recovered quickly and dashed towards Suzanna again. His sole mission was to keep Suzanna away from the fight.

Chapter 275: Killed A God

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

Slanbrea smiled wanly when he saw Saul's Wind Blade shred the light ball into millions of tiny light chips, splashing everywhere. He had no time to suppress the curse, so he let the toxin spread in his body. He used all the magic power he had left to chant. A light, gold-colored light dome appeared, covering Slanbrea underneath it.

Absolute Barrier was a magic that could help a mage survive in a very difficult situation. Even if thousands of people were dying, the people under the Absolute Barrier could survive. Even when being attacked by the Forbidden spells, or if an area of hundreds of square miles had been burned, Absolute Barrier still could provide a mage a safe space. No matter what form of elements, they could not pass through the Absolute Barrier, but the mage inside the dome could attack the outside targets with any magic he wanted.

Absolute Barrier and Holy Guardian were the most advanced magic among all the defensive magic spells in the Church of Light. They had totally opposite properties; one was a defensive magic, while the other could counter all the physical attacks. Maybe Gods did not want humans to be too powerful, so nobody had ever mastered both types of magic. If there were, the two spells would cancel each other out and lose their effects.

Saul saw Slanbrea releasing Absolute Barrier. He shook his head and then saw Slanbrea chanting again. A weird element started to fluctuate in the air. They moved in a chaotic way, like a Magic Array of Chaos.

Saul looked serious and concerned. He raised his hand and released Meteorite magic in the blink of an eye. A meteorite with flame fell from the sky with a whooshing sound, right onto the Absolute Barrier. With a huge bang, the meteorite turned into millions of flames and flashes, but the Absolute Barrier only slightly went out of shape and returned to normal.

Absolute Barrier was a great defense for magic, but not so great against physical attacks. Gods would not teach humans any perfect magic. If Absolute Barrier had the physical defense as if Gods were guarding them, then any top power who had mastered the Absolute Barrier could ignore any rule and law in the world.

Saul did not stop. Magic spells were consecutively released, but none of them was senior-level magic. A wall grew out of the ground and knocked Slanbrea into the air, causing him to stop chanting. When Slanbrea immediately released Levitation magic to move to the side, another meteorite smashed both the Absolute Barrier and Slanbrea to the ground. A pile of debris sprang out from the ground and hit Slanbrea into the air like a ball.

Saul looked confident, but he actually was very nervous. He wanted to see what Slanbrea would do. Self-explosion!

Entos had moved to the side. He looked like he was thinking about something with his eyes blinking. Anfey still stared at Slanbrea. He knew he was not good enough to participate in this fight between Saul and Slanbrea. He could accidentally cause trouble for Saul, although he wanted to pierce several holes in Slanbrea. At the moment, he could only quietly watch their fight.

Slanbrea did not look strong. He was awkward and looked to be in pain. Saul played a ball game with him, but he was the ball. Slanbrea was in a bad situation. He was knocked down by a meteorite from the sky. As he fell rapidly, he was hit back into the air by the pile of debris. The free fall suddenly stopped. Slanbrea was tossed back into the air. The physical attacks from these spells could not break the Absolute Barrier, but these fast movements were beyond what Slanbrea could take. He was just a Priest of Light so his physical stamina was limited. He felt his blood all rush into his brain at one time, dizzy at another time, and then all his organs crunched together at other times. In addition, the cursing had corroded his body quickly. Slanbrea felt he had a concussion. He barely remembered what he was doing. If Slanbrea fought with Saul in his best condition, after he released the Absolute Barrier, Saul probably could only choose to run away, since the Absolute Barrier would not stay forever. The problem was Slanbrea had activated a Magic Array of Chaos. If he made it, only a few more people would die with him. If he had not made it, Slanbrea would not be able to rearrange elements and would lose his ability to control elements. The Levitation magic he released had already been against the rules of elements. He was not countered by it because the control and understanding of elements he had gained by working with them were tremendous. He wanted to release magic again, but he just could not.

Entos took out a dark black magic wand from somewhere. He raised it and waved a little. Saul thought about why Entos did that for a second and stopped releasing magic. The ball-shaped Absolute Barrier wrapped around Slanbrea and fell hard on the ground.

Slanbrea was very experienced with fights. He knew he could not give up at this point. Saul had turned against him and the Church of Light on behalf of Anfey. If he gave up right now, he could not even die easily. With no time to take a breath, Slanbrea gripped the Glory Scepter. This was the last step to activate the Magic Array of Chaos. "God said…"

Entos suddenly disappeared and then reappeared behind Slanbrea. He raised the dark black wand toward Slanbrea. Surprisingly, the Absolute Barrier did not block Entos and his wand. His wand got into the Absolute Barrier without any trouble. Blood splattered and Slanbrea was knocked to the ground. Slanbrea's blood had dyed a piece of the Absolute Barrier red.

One strike did not seem enough for Entos. He jumped high as he swung his arm to continue hitting Slanbrea. Slanbrea was struggling to crawl along the ground when Entos hit him the second time. Blood splattered again. The next moment, Entos appeared about a dozen of yards away from Slanbrea, carefully watching him.

Slanbrea was down. Everyone was startled.

Saul slowly walked a few steps forward. He heaved a long sigh when he saw Slanbrea writhing on the ground.

The light of Absolute Barrier got dimmer. Slanbrea struggled for a while and tried to hold on to the Glory Scepter to stand up. He kneeled on the ground. There was no way he could stand up. Because of the explosion of the Magic Array of Chaos, no one would be able to remember the chant after experiencing the concussion, not even Slanbrea. Right now he probably did not even remember his name.

Anfey suddenly walked two steps forward and rushed at Slanbrea. He gave him a high kick right to his chin. Slanbrea was skinny, only weighing about 130 pounds. This kick wobbled him. Almost at the same time, Anfey punched his left fist out and hit hard on the neck of Slanbrea. There was a terrifying sound of bone breaking. Slanbrea fell back to the ground. His head fell to one side in a weird angle. There was no trace that he was still alive.

It was not decent to keep hitting Slanbrea as he had already been seriously injured. However, Anfey had to do it. First of all, he was worried Saul would feel bad and would not kill Slanbrea. Second, he felt it was his responsibility to kill Slanbrea. He could not let anyone else kill him. He made the trouble so he had to kill him. If later on Saul would not be able to take the pressure from the Church of Light, they could come to him. He would rather take responsibility for killing Slanbrea. If they wanted to kill him and were able to kill him, they could do that.

Whether Anfey's thinking was naïve or not was another story. Thinking about what had happened previously and looking at what had just happened, Anfey did not want to bring any more trouble to Saul. He owed too much to Saul.

Saul looked at the back of Anfey. He used to treat Anfey as a simple and nice kid. He cared about him, but never paid too much attention to him, which had allowed Anfey some freedom to do whatever he wanted for a while. After getting to know Anfey a little more, it was not hard for Saul to guess something from Anfey's actions, since Saul had seen so many different people in his life.

The match between Suzanna and Ernest was a draw. This fight was super hard for Ernest. He was in a super passive position. He did not want to hurt Suzanna but Suzanna seemed to fight for her life. She looked like she wanted to kill Ernest. At that moment, Suzanna's fighting ability seemed better than Ernest's. Ernest could barely counter Suzanna's strikes. He got a deep cut on his left shoulder. The blood had dyed half of his shirt. Many people thought Ernest stubborn and hot tempered. What they thought made some sense. He was hit pretty hard, but never asked for help. If it were Anfey, he probably would have already called everyone's name for help.

There must be something wrong with angels' intelligence. If Suzanna could have helped Slanbrea, he would not have died so fast. Right now this angel wanted to fight Ernest. Her attacks got faster and fiercer one after another. She looked like she had decided to kill Ernest.

Saul did not have time to talk to Anfey. He waved his hand. A gust of wind element picked up the Glory Scepter from the ground and sent it to his palm. The scepter was carved with runes and looked holy. Saul thought for a while before he ran his fingers from the top of the scepter down .

Where Saul's fingers passed, the runes suddenly dimmed. As his fingers reached the bottom of the scepter, the Glory Scepter had turned into a regular wood stick. Saul tossed the Glory Scepter into the air and shoot out a big fire ball. With a huge exploding sound, the wood stick burst into millions of pieces with flames. Church of Light had lost a holy item.

Suzanna suddenly stopped her attacks and screamed out in pain. The light wings disappeared as well. A blurry shadow came out of Suzanna. Saul chanted with his eyes closed. A one-yard-long crescent shaped black blade swung in the air and cut the rising shadow in half. Ernest had never showed any change in his face before, but this time he was so shocked that he screamed, "You killed a god!"

Chapter 276: Habits

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

Saul did not have time to answer Ernest. He transferred his wand from his left hand to his right and raised it into the air. Wind blades appeared in the air and rained down on the shadow. The shadow tried to avoid the attack, but there were too many wind blades and the perimeter of the attack was too great. The shadow was shredded to pieces in the blink of an eye. It hung in the air limply. Mist rose from its form and disappeared.

Saul turned his eyes to the pieces of the scepter and stared at it.

Small dots of light appeared from the scepter. The lights began clumping together and quickly formed a fist-sized ball of light. The ball burst into blinding light and began raising towards the sky.

Saul did nothing but shake his head, but Entos seemed strangely excited. "You may be an angel," he whispered under his breath, "but even an angel can be killed when it's disembodied."

The mist around the ball of light disappeared when it was a few feet off the ground, and the light stopped. Then it began to spin quickly, and everyone felt a strange pressure. Saul, Ernest, and Bruzuryano could deal with the pressure, but the younger mages could not handle the overwhelming pressure. Niya's face became pale. She reached out and grabbed at the air weakly. She felt the air became heavy as if it was turned into liquid by the light and was suffocating her. Saul waved his staff and summoned a magic shield that covered everyone. Niya took a deep breath. She stared at the ball of light, terrified, and grabbed Saul's arm. She was a daughter of one of the most powerful mages, and she knew magic very well, even though she was not a mage herself. Niya knew that, normally, damage must be done through attack. This ball of light was defying the rules of nature.

The sound of high-pitched screams and static filled the air. It sounded angry and accusative. Thankfully, everyone present was protected by Saul's magic shield, or else most wouldn't be able to handle the pressure.

"It may be a battle angel," Bruzuryano said, "but it is still an angel." This was the first time he spoke since Saul appeared. While Anfey was trying to understand Suzanna's change in attitude, Bruzuryano already knew what had happened. He chose to remain silent in order to avoid suspicion.

Ernest stared at Saul, who nodded slowly after a few seconds. Then Saul turned to Bruzuryano and smiled.

"You…" Bruzuryano wanted to say something, but he sighed and knew he wouldn't be able to talk any sense into them.

Ernest shook his head, then turned and dashed towards the ball of light. Perhaps because it was spinning so fast, the ball of light was already losing its shape. Ernest's figure looked like it was being picked up by a large hand. The light of his combat power was twisted and warped by the light. He drew his sword as he approached the light.

The screaming stopped and the pressure disappeared as Ernest's sword sliced through the light. The ball turned into thousands of specks of light and rained down onto the earth like fireworks. Ernest landed on the ground and jumped back to rejoin Saul. A dozen specks of light landed on Ernest like golden fish scales, clinging to his clothing. Bruzuryano frowned at the sight. He opened his mouth a few times, but did not say anything.

Entos suddenly teleported himself and appeared under the specks of light. He opened his arms and stared at the light as if he had just seen the most amazing sight in the entire world.

"Entos!" Saul bellowed.

Entos froze, then returned to Saul's side with another teleportation spell. "I apologize, my lord," he said with a smile. "Call it a habit."

"Saul, that may be a battle angel, but it is still an angel," Bruzuryano said with an emphasis on the word "still".

"I don't know much about Divine Punishment," Saul said, "but I know its consequences. This is to make up for it."

Saul waved his hand and summoned a light breeze. The breeze blew the light towards Suzanna, who was still unconscious, and dropped the light all over her.

Bruzuryano sighed and shook his head. "I thought the most senseless archmage was Newyoheim," he said.

"I'm just seeking justice," Saul said with a smile. He turned to Anfey and said, "Everything's fine now. The girl will be fine." He paused then said, "Shouldn't you look at me and say something now?"

Anfey turned around slowly and said, "Master Saul, I…" If none of this had happened, Anfey might have been able to greet Saul naturally. After all, he did spent a lot of time writing his script. After what had just happened, the only thing Anfey should do was thank Saul. He did not know what to say.

"That's it?" Saul asked slowly. "I did not realize we are so distant that it's hard for you to greet me."

"Father," Niya suddenly said, shaking Saul's arm. "Anfey's fine. He's a good person." Niya paused and nodded.

"He's a good person? How so?" Saul asked with a smile. Even though he was happy that Anfey was able grow and make a name for himself, he still felt uncomfortable. Anfey was so unassuming when he was under Saul's care, who would have thought he would be the one to take the lead once on his own? This could not change Saul's fondness for Anfey, of course; he was simply curious and needed an answer.

Niya frowned and tried to recall what Anfey had done in the past. When she was living in Sacred City, she had relied on her father. After she left, Anfey took Saul's place and she was able to rely on him. Anfey took care of his friends, and even though he had brought them unnecessary trouble, she knew he had done his job. Out of everyone, she was the most protected. She was not required to do anything dangerous unless she was the last one left. She felt safe when she was with Anfey. Everyone else respected him as well, and she began to respect him. Her dislike for Anfey was long forgotten.

Anfey had done too much, Niya did not know where to start. "I don't care," she finally said with a sigh. "He's just a good person."

"Just drop it, will you?" Ernest said as he walked over. He glanced at Anfey and turned away. Ernest was never good at expressing emotions. He was glad to see Anfey again, but he did not say anything.

"Don't forget. He's my student, not yours."

"Father!" Niya said again.

"Alright, alright," Saul said with a smile. He looked at Niya and stroked her hair gently. "My student is ignoring me, but my daughter shouldn't." Saul grinned widely and his eyes lit up with the joy of seeing his daughter again.

When he heard what had happened, Saul had been worried to death. However, he had a whole war to fight, and did not have the spare energy to deal with the situation back at home. He remained calm so his soldiers would not panic, but no one knew how he had suffered. After Ernest appeared and told him what had happened, he relaxed a little. As soon as he stopped worrying, he grew angry. He wrote to Yolanthe angrily and claimed that nothing would have gone wrong if Yolanthe had not send Miorich to prevent Ernest from reaching Niya. He claimed he would leave immediately to look for his daughter. Of course, Saul would not really desert his post. He was angry, but he could not let his emotions decide the fate of his nation. Yolanthe's apologetic attitude towards the situation helped calm Saul's anger, as well.

This was the first time he had seen his beloved daughter in almost a year, and Saul could feel nothing but happiness. At the same time, he was also slightly worried. He did not know what Niya had been through when he was away. He was powerful, but he could not protect her forever. What would happen after he died?

Niya rested her head on Saul's shoulder and closed her eyes. Growth came from experience, and for some people, a peaceful life may not be the best for them.

Chapter 277: Covering for Anfey

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

Anfey walked up to Suzanna. He squatted down to look at her. She was covered with lights shaped like scales on a fish. Anfey could barely see her face. Without knowing how much time had passed, the lights on her body started to dim. When the last few scale lights went out, Anfey held Suzanna in his arms. She was still in coma and rested in Anfey's arms with her head slanted to one side. Anfey felt her softness in his arms. Her hair was down and blown in the wind.

Anfey laid his eyes on Suzanna's chest. Her chest slowly moved up and down with a strong pulse. He put his ear on it to check. He could clearly hear her heartbeat. He finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Anfey turned around, carrying Suzanna in his arms, looking at Saul and Niya not far from him. A question suddenly flashed in his head. There was a big age difference between Saul and Suzanna, almost forty years difference. Perhaps Saul had dedicated himself in magic and could not spare his energy in marriage, but something didn't make sense. Where was Niya's mom? Why had no one talked about her at all, not even Niya. When they were running away from Sacred City, Niya called "dad" when she had nightmares. It was a little weird. No one talked about it. Anfey never bothered to ask since it involved her personal life.

"Professor, is Suzanna really going to be fine?" Anfey did not want to interfere with Niya and Saul while they were trying to bond, but he had to. He had always been good at not asking too many questions and rarely nagged anyone. Now he was just worried for some reason.

"Don't worry about it. She is fine." Ernest said it before Saul could even say anything. He paused before patting Anfey on the shoulder. Ernest was not good at expressing his feelings. It was pretty rare to see him to give this kind of gesture.

"Even if she has lost something, what she gained is way more than what she has lost. You don't have to worry about her," Saul slowly said.

"William must be enraged. Saul, aren't you afraid William will come to see you and blame you for everything?" Bruzuryano said with a bitter smile.

Annunciata had not made any move for a long time. The Evil Abyss must know she was killed by Ernest. Both Church of Light and Evil Mist had suffered serious losses. Church of Light lost a Priest of Light and a sacred item. Evil Mist lost a senior stateswoman. Judging from the way the phantom dragon showed up, it must have been released from a seal. The magic tool that sealed the phantom dragon might not be as good as Glory Scepter, but should be very similar to that sense. Church of Light seemed to suffer the same amount of loss as Evil Abyss.

"Slanbrea and Annunciata came to the end together. Even if William wants to take revenge, he should not seek me out," Saul said calmly.

"Do you think William will believe your lies?" Bruzuryano twitched his mouth. There was a roaring behind them. A group of zombies wobbled over. The two zombies in the front were big. They actually used to be the druids of Bruzuryano. With no control over them, zombies went after any living organism by instinct. They had no idea what terror could feel like. They just wobbled over.

Seeing his subordinates turned into zombies, Bruzuryano thought about what he had paid for the battle, He was upset about it. He released Nature magic. Countless vines grew out of the ground and tied all the zombies together.

"It depends on how William thinks of it," Saul said. "If William were as honest as he claims, he would believe me. If William only pretended to be honest, he would blame me for it even if what I told him were the truth."

Bruzuryano was quiet in thought for a while. He heaved a long sigh. It was just like Saul said. If Pope William really aimed at wiping out necromancers, he would pay any price to fight the evil. He would not create conflict or make it worse than it should be at this crucial moment. If Pope William had ambitions of taking over Pan Continent, he definitely wanted to do more than wiping out necromancers. If he could not even wait for his bigger plan, he might use this as an excuse to create conflict with Maho Empire. Even if Slanbrea were killed by Annunciata, William still could blame them for something if he wanted to. He could stir up his followers and made them angry at Saul and Anfey.

"We probably have not seen each other for about five years, have we?" Saul looked at the horizon and squinted. There was a group of knights moving fast in their direction.

"Something like that," Bruzuryano nodded.

"Would you like to come to my house?" Saul asked.

"To Sacred City?" Bruzuryano was shocked for a second.

"Yeah." Saul smiled. "We are getting old. We do not have too much time left. If we miss this time, I do not even know if we would see each other again."

"Sure," Bruzuryano agreed quickly. He knew going to Sacred City was not going to be that simple. If he went, as a follower of Goddess of Nature, it would be an indication that Saul was innocent, which would be putting a decent amount of pressure on Pope William.

Anfey quietly listened to the conversation between Saul and Bruzuryano. He felt he had been too naïve. He used to live in a world where laws and rules governed people. He unconsciously believed it was a case of a homicide if he killed Slanbrea before Saul could. Now he understood, Slanbrea was not only Slanbrea himself, but Slanbrea of the Church of Light. One or a few people were responsible for a criminal case in his previous world, but in this world, a group was responsible for the death of Slanbrea, no matter who in the group killed him. In other words, he looked ridiculous when he tried to kill Slanbrea himself. Saul had made it clear that if Pope William could not wait for the conflicts, he would definitely blame Saul for it. It was a trigger. If that were the case, William's aim was to make Yolanthe lose the whole territory of Maho Empire to Church of Light.

As Saul and Bruzuryano talked, a group of knights rushed over. A knight in the front hurriedly jumped off his horse. He bowed to Saul respectfully first and said in a low voice, "Master, Dean Steger has killed four necromancers and other mages. Two necromancers escaped toward the southeast."

"Where is Steger?' Saul asked.

"He chased after those two necromancers himself," the knight said.

"Steger came too?" Bruzuryano asked in surprise. "I did not know you were so well-prepared."

Hearing this, Saul frowned. "I almost forgot if you did not remind me. What happened? You should have already reached Mambo territory as we planned. Why did you guys just come here? If it were not for me feeling something was not right and taking people to see you, you guys would have been caught by Annunciata."

"Do not ask me. Ask your favorite student," Bruzuryano shrugged.

Saul scanned the group. Christian immediately walked up and try to calm Saul down with smiles. "Professor, it was my bad. After running away from Sacred City, we have been roaming everywhere and living an unstable life. We finally could come back to our country, finally felt relaxed…"

"I am asking you what took you so long to get here," Saul interrupted.

"I wanted to see some nice scenery on the way," Christian said.

"To see nice scenery?" Saul asked.

"Yes," Christian said timidly.

Saul glanced at Anfey. He never believed what Christian said from the very beginning. This group of kids listened to Anfey. Saul knew Anfey would never let Christian see some nice scenery at this critical moment.

"Professor, it was my fault," Anfey stepped forward.

Saul gave Christian a hard look and slowly said, "Anfey, can you explain why?"

Christian looked worried. He looked at Anfey in confusion. They had worked so long that Anfey should have known to say nothing right now or blame it all on Christian, since he had a very special background. Even if Christian made a big mistake, Saul would not do much to him. If it were Anfey, Saul could be very strict with him, even though Saul was nice most of the time.

"My bad, my bad!" Niya could tell Saul was getting mad at Anfey and wanted to punish him for it. She signaled Anfey by giving him an I-got-it look as she shook Saul's arm. "I was not feeling good so I asked Anfey to slow down."

"One wanted to see scenery while the other one did not feel good." Saul had a fake smile on his face. "No bad, not bad. After getting some real life experience for about half a year, you learned nothing but to lie to cover for each other."

"I did not. I really did not feel good," Niya complained.

Anfey smiled bitterly inside. Even if they wanted to help him, they needed to come up with some better excuses. These excuses were too lame to be believable.

Saul looked at Niya in surprise. When she was in Sacred City, Niya was the number two person in the household. She scolded people as she wanted, and told on anyone who broke her stuff. She was pretty nice if she did not blame others for her own mistakes. Today Niya stood out to speak for Anfey! Maybe it was a sign that she had grown up.

Anfey was still quiet. He could not let others know the reasons why he did what he did. To be honest, it was not all Anfey's fault. If Miorich and Bruzuryano could have talked about the plan with him, he would not have made the same decision. Anfey had achieved major accomplishments, but he was still a kid in Miorich and Bruzuryano's eyes. They did not think he was good enough to work with them as peers.

"Ok, I am not going to force you to tell me the reasons if you don't want to." Saul waved his hand. "Get on the wagon first."

Chapter 278: Poor

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

Saul had come in a hurry but he still brought enough carriages. The mages that came with him all had carriages. After the bulk of Saul's men rejoined him, the mages were able to find a few spare carriages. Saul and Bruzuryano sat in the same carriage, and Ernest chose to sit with Anfey. Christian and Black Eleven were in the last carriage. Entos, on the other hand, chose to use magic instead of riding in carriages like the rest of them.

The carriages headed towards Mambo territory smoothly. The carriages all looked the same, but the atmosphere in each carriage was completely different. Niya sat next to Saul and was telling him about what she had experienced while she was away from the city. Her mind chose to forget the danger she was just in. She glanced down at Saul's robe and said, "Father, why are you wearing this? It looks ugly on you."

"What should I wear, then?" Saul asked with a smile. He was relieved that Niya was safe. "I'm poor now, darling. This is the only thing I can afford."

"Poor?" Niya asked, frowning.

"The collection I accumulated over several decades was robbed, so I am poor now."

Niya grinned and shook her head, imagining Saul's face when he realized his secret chamber was empty. "Don't worry, father. All those things are in Anfey's care."

"I'm not worried," Saul said. "Niya, he didn't damage any of the books, did he?"

"He burned them," Niya said, "since they had no use to us."

"What?" Saul asked, gasping, his eyes wide open. Those magic books were rare books he accumulated throughout his entire life. It was all he could do not to go mad with anger after hearing this.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Niya said, patting Saul's shoulder. "It's a joke. We didn't burn them. Why would we?"

Saul sighed and shook his head. If Christian or Anfey had told him what Niya just did, he would not have believed them. Of course, Christian and Anfey, unlike Niya, did not dare to lie to his face.

Bruzuryano watched Saul and Niya with a smile. He chose to stay quiet in order not to interrupt Saul and Niya's reunion.

"Don't worry, father," Niya said with a sigh. "I'm happy now. I'm safe." She smiled and leaned against Saul's shoulder.

Saul looked at Niya dotingly and smiled, stroking her hair.

In the second carriage, there was only silence. Suzanna was still unconscious, Ernest had his eyes closed and was not talking, and Anfey was holding Suzanna and observing her expression.

Loss could cause some of the greatest pain, and hatred was torture. Having something you thought you had lost returning would bring overwhelming joy. Anfey had not experience such strong emotions in a long time, and he needed time to recover. He did not want to hide his emotions anymore, nor did he need to. He stared at Suzanna without blinking.

Suzanna shifted slightly and let out a grunt. Then she opened her eyes slowly. Her gaze met Anfey's, and she quickly shut her eyes again.

"Suzanna," Anfey called. "Are you awake?"

Suzanna grunted. "Yes," she said, opening her eyes again. Her gaze met Anfey's and she did not turn away this time. She still felt uncomfortable under Anfey's gaze, however, and turned her head away. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked. "Makes me uncomfortable."

"Did I?" Anfey asked, then smiled awkwardly. He did not realize how intense his gaze had been. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," Suzanna said. "What happened? Why am I here? What happened to the necromancers?" She reached for her sword and realized it was gone. She frowned and asked, "Where's my sword?"

"I believe you're looking for this," Ernest said and held out Suzanna's sword. He was a swordsman as well, so knew how important a sword was to a swordsman.

"Thank you," Suzanna said and accepted the sword. She frowned and realized she had never seen this man before. She was still leaning against Anfey, which was something she did not like to do even in front of her friends. She felt strange displaying affection in front of a stranger.

Suzanna pushed herself up, but Anfey kept his arm around her tightly. "What are you doing?" Anfey asked. "Don't move too much."

Suzanna frowned and blushed. She had spend enough time with Anfey to trust him, and even though she could use combat power to escape Anfey's embrace, she did not. She relaxed and let herself lean against Anfey, but she kept her eyes closed.

"It's so rare," Ernest suddenly said.

Suzanna frowned. She did not open her eyes, but she was listening to the conversation. Anfey looked relaxed and she deduced that Anfey must know the man. He may even be Anfey's close friend or family. Suzanna wanted to know Anfey better, and that included getting to know his family and friends.

"What is rare, Mr. Ernest?" Anfey asked. He was very happy and was smiling because Suzanna woke up, and the atmosphere became more lively. Anfey knew Ernest, and knew that he disliked formality and small talk. If he said "how are you" or "I missed you," Ernest may not even reply. Might as well let the conversation be more natural.

"She's one of the youngest senior swordsmasters I've met," Ernest said with a smile. "And her combat power is close to breaking the boundary. If nothing goes wrong, she can become a master swordsman in a few years. If opportunity allows, maybe even sooner."

"Opportunity?" Anfey asked. "Does…what happened count?" Anfey did not want Suzanna to know what had happened, and so did not say anything more.

Ernest smiled and nodded.

Suzanna was shocked when she heard Anfey call the man Ernest. Ernest did not have the best reputation and was widely known as a man that relied on trickery and deception. When she just met Anfey, Anfey grew angry at her for mocking Ernest. She was very interested in the man after that. She wanted to know what kind of men could earn Anfey's respect.

"By the way, Mr. Ernest, why did you let Jerrofick escape?" Anfey asked. Ever since he learned what had happened to Ernest, he wanted Ernest to get revenge. Compared to Saul, Ernest was much simpler and much more trusting. It wasn't hard to guess what Ernest was thinking. This did not effect Anfey's opinion of Ernest, and he felt angry that a respectable man like Ernest was called deceitful because of Jerrofick's lie.

"It's not my personal battle. He ran when he saw me. I couldn't do anything after that," Ernest said, shrugging.

"I think His Majesty must be very happy now," Anfey said with a smile. Ernest believed it was not his personal battle, meaning that he must be a very obedient soldier. Ernest could not avoid serving Maho Empire anymore. Whether Ernest stayed or not depended on Yolanthe's attitude. Saul was the only person who could help.

"Why bring up Yolanthe?" Ernest asked with a frown.

"Did you receive His Majesty's invitation after the war?"

"Yes. Miorich was still on the eastern front so Yolanthe wanted me to take up the job of the head of the palace guards."

"How did you respond?"

"I declined the offer."

Anfey frowned and did not say anything. He wish Ernest would have stayed in Maho Empire, but Ernest had his own interests and pursuits, and Anfey had no right telling him what to do.

Someone knocked on the side of the carriage, then Entos appeared. "Did I interrupt anything?" he asked with a smile. Suzanna rolled her eyes when she heard another strange voice. She knew that Anfey would not let go of her, so she chose to bury her face in his clothes.

"Don't worry," Anfey said.

Entos wiped his brow and sat down on the ground. Entos had been using a teleportation spell instead of walking or riding in a carriage. When it came to teleportation, he was better than most people in the world. This was the result of years of practicing the same magic. Of course, Entos was interested in teleportation in the first place, or else he would never spend his entire life studying the same spell.

"I have to tell you about something," Entos said.

"What is it?" Anfey asked, curious.

"No matter what you do, don't mention Nana in front of Master Saul, understand?"

"Nana?" Anfey asked, frowning. "Alright. I see."

Chapter 279: Future Concerns

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

Entos did not want to explain, so he sat quietly for a while with his eyes squinting. He changed the conversation topic. "Professor did not want to tell you, but I feel I have to remind you. You are not a regular person anymore. You are a count of the empire. You obtained many secrets that are politically sensitive. I would recommend you talk less, make few people notice you when you go back to Sacred City. No matter what, do not show your opinions too much, do you understand what I am saying?"

"Sir, are you saying Sacred City is not enjoying peace now?" Anfey asked.

"Hehehe, Anfey, we are both students of our professor. We do not need to address each other in such a respectful way. Of course, if you want to, I am not going to against it." Entos smiled. "Christian and Riska call me Bro Entos. I like it better. It gives me a feeling that we are family. You may not know, but I am an orphan like Nana. I am just a little luckier than him. I do not have such low self-esteem as he did." Entos looked sad and could not continue talking any more.

"My bad, bro Entos," Anfey said smiling.

"Good." Entos smiled with Anfey. Then he frowned: "Oh, right, where were we?"

"I was asking whether there are riots in Sacred City?" Anfey asked.

"It is not like that." Entos shook his head and smiled. "Ellisen and Shansa Empires fell for Yolanthe's faked death. You know about it, right?"

"Yes," Anfey said.

"Our king is wise, both physically and intellectually powerful. He had vision and had ability to predict danger. I am sorry. I got used to flattering him. I was carried away. Let me put it in a simpler way since there are no other people." Entos patted his forehead. "Our king's plan was successful, but it also exposed his critical problem. Do you know what it is?"

Anfey thought about this question for a while. He seemed to get it, but he still shook his head.

"Our king does not have anyone to succeed him on the throne. If something happens, the whole country would be in chaos." Entos sighed. "For the past few days, the two prime ministers and minister of defense had appealed to him to asked him to decide who would be his successor. You know, any country under this kind of situation...this is just the beginning. There will be more people getting involved. Situations can change as well."

"What does the king think of it?" Anfey asked.

"The king has been keeping quiet about it. It is a big deal, since it could affect the fate of our country. He does not want to rush into making a decision," Entos said.

"How about our professor? What does he think of this?" Anfey asked.

"Professor did not say anything about it either. That is also the reason I warned you to talk less and making yourself less visible. Do not talk about your opinions too much when things happen. To most people, we might represent our professor. If we could not help the professor, at least we should not bring him any trouble."

"I understand." Anfey nodded again. "How many parties are those government officials divided into in Sacred City right now?"

"Those few, you know. The eldest prince, Wester, is good at socializing. After the king's fake death, he was in charge of government administration. He gave out a lot of goodies to government officials and received a lot of compliments from two prime ministers and other government officials. The second oldest prince, Granden, is popular in the armies. He has been on the frontier every time there was a war since he was sixteen. He bonded well with many generals and soldiers. The third oldest princess is Rodhart. When the empire was under the most serious threats, he was still drinking and fooling around. He was never motivated, so government official had given up on him," Entos said.

Anfey was a little surprised, but did not show it. "So, there was probably tension between Wester and Granden, right?" Anfey asked.

"Not to that point. However, if our king keeps quiet about it, I think the tension is going to get worse." Entos heaved a sigh. "No one knows what the king is thinking now. Smart people would not get involved. Unfortunately, there are not too many smart people."

"Niya and Granden…shouldn't our professor say something?" Anfey did not make it sound obvious, but what he was trying to say was obvious to Entos. Niya had been dating Granden. For Niya's happiness, Saul should have supported Granden. Fights over the throne in the royal families were always bloody and cruel. There was no peaceful way to solve this problem. The losers either died or disappeared. If Saul did not want Niya to be a widow, he should help Granden to be the successor. This problem seemed very simple.

Entos smiled. "Anfey, do you think our professor is stupid?"

Anfey was shocked by Entos' question. "No, why would you say that?"

Entos did not answer. He lowered his head and was lost in thought. He looked hesitant. He did not say anything for quite a while before he continued slowly, "Professor showed me the information about you. Anfey, I kind of know what sort of person you are. I should show my sincerity if I want to earn your trust. However…" Entos's eyes laid on Suzanna and then back to Anfey.

"She is my wife," Anfey said quietly.

"I hope you can keep this secret. If this were known by others, I will be in a very dangerous situation," Entos confided.

Anfey was not so sure about this. He felt the pressure of the trust Entos passed on to him. For the sake of his future, he not only needed to experience this world, but also needed to get involved. It must be a top secret if Entos was so careful with it. Maybe this secret could allow him to see more clearly the situation he was in and allow him to figure out how he should be in the future, judging from the current situation.

Before Anfey could make a decision whether he would like to know about Entos' secret, Entos had said, "Granden is three years younger than Wester, but was Wester's first teacher."

"First teacher? What do you mean?" Anfey asked in surprise.

"Wester was a typical wealthy and spoiled kid. He was addicted to all kinds of entertainment. He was not motivated at all. Do you know he used to be a joke in Sacred City magic academy? He spent eight years in the academy before he could even graduate. If it were not because of his special family background, the academy probably would have asked him to withdraw a long time ago. Professor used to tell me to be fair when criticizing anyone. Only this way, the criticism is closer to the facts. I did not mean to look down upon Wester. I only wanted to give you a better picture of who he is," Entos said slowly.

"I understand," Anfey said.

"Granden was mature at a young age. When he was about twelve years old, he asked that they find him teachers in different areas. His interests were broad. He learned astronomy, geography, military, politics, and even poems. When was about 15 years old, he liked to read pleas from the government officials with Yolanthe. He even spoke out about his opinions sometimes. Maho Empire had serious drought in many places when he was sixteen years old. Shansa Empire took advantage of it and invaded Maho Empire. Granden volunteered to supervise the war in the name of Yolanthe.

It was a tradition made by Maho Empire ancestors that the future kings had to supervise wars in case they lost themselves in their luxurious lives.

Anfey listened attentively.

"As time went by, King Yolanthe liked Granden more and more. Granden was strong, brave, aggressive and had many other strong points. Well, it is not because I am in the habit of flattering others. I am telling the truth." Entos gave a fake smile. "Well, Wester has been scolded by King Yolanthe many times. Maybe he sensed danger. Without knowing from what time, Wester secretly changed. He still looked like a wealthy playboy, but that has become his camouflage. He could even receive two prime ministers' compliments now. Do you know who contributed to his success?"

"Granden?" Anfey smiled.

"As I said, Granden is Wester's first teacher," Entos replied. "It is really off topic. Granden has come to our professor's house very frequently since he was fifteen years old. He was not coming to ask our professor questions. He just came to play with Niya. He started to write love letters to Niya when he was eighteen years old. Niya was only fourteen years old back then. What did she know about love? She was embarrassed and mad at Granden and scolded him for writing her love letters. However, Granden did not give up. He has been after Niya for a few years. If it were Wester who was after Niya, he probably would be a joke to everyone. Granden was so smart. Why would he risk himself becoming a joke to go after Niya? Was it about love or something else?"

Anfey sighed quietly, but did not comment.

"Granden has proposed to Niya three times. Niya felt she wanted to have more fun and was not ready to settle down yet. She agreed to date Granden, but she turned down his proposals. She did not think it would be fun to be someone's wife and listen to her husband all the time." Entos looked at Anfey with a smile. It seemed that Entos and Anfey thought in the same way as Niya did about marriage. Entos said in a self-deprecating tone, "I thought our professor was too nice to see through it. In fact, our professor knows better than anyone else."

"Why did our professor not stop him?" Anfey asked.

"Why would he do that? It was not wrong if Granden wanted to succeed to the throne. If he could not use the resources he had, he would be overthrown one day. In addition, Granden is a nice guy. He is upright, but flexible; brave but does not rush into things; hates anything unfair, but knows how to control his feelings. As for the motivation to go after Niya, we can understand him. He may have had some other intentions toward Niya at the beginning, but he really liked Niya later. He cares about Niya and takes good care of her. The most important thing is Niya likes him as well," Entos said.

"Granden is too smart while Niya is so silly. Later…" Anfey said.

"She has me, and you in the future." Entos smiled.

Anfey heaved a sigh of relief. He nodded. "You are right." Anfey knew what Entos meant.

"The future is too far away and people are so complicated. Even the best astrologer could not tell what is going to happen to Niya. Our professor did not want much for Niya. He only wanted her to be happy. Right now, Granden has been doing well," Entos said.

Chapter 280: Privilege

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

Entos was very talkative. He spoke in a way that was very logical and clear. He was able to make the political situation in Sacred City easy to understand, even to someone like Anfey. Sacred City was much like the medieval period in Anfey's old world with only a few exceptions. Yolanthe, the emperor, had two prime ministers. One was in charge of internal issues, the other in charge of communicating and dealing with foreign nations. Between the emperor and the prime ministers was another group of people: the top tier powers.

These people were some of the most powerful in the world. They could cause all kinds of trouble, but they could also help stabilize the country. The rules of nature hardly applied to these people, and it was not hard to find examples of these people murdering innocent people due to their mood swings. There were even examples of these powerful people murdering entire families. However, because they were so powerful, the kings rarely accused them of anything unless the king's position was threatened. The price of justice was usually very high. If a king tried to capture or kill a top level power but he was able to escape, the consequences were deadly. Even a king as powerful as Yolanthe would not leave his city for years. Saul did not care for politics, but no one would ignore anything he said. This was a privilege reserved for powerful people. Anfey killed the grandson of master swordsman Philip, which landed him on the wanted list. If he killed a common patrol officer, no one would say anything because they were afraid of his teacher. If Saul wanted to punish Anfey, no one could stop him, either.

This privilege also helped keep the peace within the empire. Everyone wanted to join the most powerful people in the world, and as long as one had the talent and determination, it wasn't a dream out of reach. A man's birth could not determine his strength. Even a dying slave could become powerful if he came across the right opportunity. This gave a dream to people living at the bottom and helped turn their hatred towards the society into determination to become powerful.

The Country of Mercenaries functioned in similar ways. Every year, countless young and able-bodied mercenaries died with their dreams, their bodies left to rot in the Forest of Death and Wild Plains, but every year more young men and women would pour into the country seeking opportunities.

Wars were inevitable, but there was no need for drafting because the nations had no trouble finding soldiers. In order to keep soldiers qualified and fit to fight, the military would teach the new recruits how to use swords and combat power. A lot of commoners poured into the military hoping that it would be their springboard to greatness.

Anfey suddenly remembered the civil service exams. Even though it was two completely different ways of approaching the situation, the ultimate goal was the same. So many poor students spent every hour studying until they were half starved to death just so they could take the test and change their entire lives. This cemented many people's wish to have their children study their way out of poverty.

However, there were too many people and too few positions. Only a few people were able to achieve greatness, and the rest were buried by history. People were only familiar with the few poor men and women who succeeded, but the other poor men and women were ignored. So many people could not achieve greatness themselves and rest their hopes on their children. Their children might not succeed, and would in turn rest their hopes on their children. This formed a cycle that solidified the system.

As the carriages entered Mambo territory, Entos finished his history lesson. Anfey rarely interrupted. He was taking in Entos's words and turning them into something he could understand and remember. Anfey was a very good listener and could understand most of the things Entos talked about, but Entos was talking too much and Anfey did not find the right place to ask questions.

"Time to get off," Saul said, knocking on the side of the carriage.

Anfey blinked and looked out. He tried to stand up, but found his lower body numb. He was still holding Suzanna in his arms, and his position prevented proper blood flow to his lower body.

Entos moved over a little and did not exit until Ernest did. Anfey stumbled out of the carriage after Entos, and Suzanna walked out after him. Suzanna had been holding the same position for the entire trip, so her situation was no better than Anfey's. Her limbs were numb and she could hardly feel them.

"She's awake already?" Saul asked when he saw Suzanna.

Anfey poked Suzanna's side, but Suzanna kept her eyes on the ground and did not know Saul was speaking to her.

"Suzanna, let me introduce you." Seeing that Suzanna wouldn't introduce herself, Anfey sighed and decided to introduce her. "This is my teacher, Master Saul."

"Oh," Suzanna said. She hurriedly glanced up and looked as if she had just woke up from a dream. "Nice-Nice to meet you, my lord."

"This is Mr. Ernest," Anfey said, turning to Ernest. It had been a little awkward in the carriage earlier, but it was not too late to introduce Suzanna to Ernest. He had no need for small talk and formality, but Suzanna should be more formal to make a good first impression.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Suzanna said, bowing to Ernest.

"I'm Entos," Entos interrupted with a smirk. "Just Entos, if you would."

"Nice to meet you as well," Suzanna said. She lowered her gaze again. If it had just been Saul present, it would have been easier. However, both Ernest and Entos were in the carriage and had seen how Anfey was holding her. Suzanna felt too embarrassed to look either one of them in the eye.

Christian walked over. He giggled but did not say anything.

"Hey," Niya walked over. "I'm Niya." She grinned.

Suzanna smiled and shook her head. She lowered her head again so she did not have to deal with Niya and Christian.

"Alright, alright," Saul said. He patted Niya on the head then turned and asked, "Is the portal ready?"

"Yes, my lord," a nearby soldier answered respectfully.

Anfey glanced around. He had seen a lot of transmission portals, and the portal itself did not make an impression of him. What shocked him was the location of the portal. It was in a large, lavish mansion. Huge stone columns lined the outside of the mansion, and the ceiling was at least a hundred feet tall. However, he was only standing in front of the mansion and could not tell how large the entire building was. Besides the soldier standing next to them, there were no other patrols in sight. Anfey had heard that the lord of Mambo territory was a recluse and the territory itself rarely allowed visitors. Everything within the territory was a secret. Anfey was too busy listening to Entos on the way and missed the chance of actually observing the territory firsthand.

"Let's go," Saul said. "Let's go home."

"Yes," Niya chirped happily. "Let's go home." Christian smiled as well. The more they ran, the more they missed their home in Sacred City. They were all overjoyed that they could finally go home now.

As he stepped into the portal, blinding light cut off Anfey's connection with the outside world. A familiar scene appeared before him after a few seconds. The last time he was there, the first thing he saw was Miorich. This time, instead of Miorich, it was a thin old man.

The old man had peppered black hair and looked to be around Saul's age. He was clean shaven and his thin lips were set into a tight line. He had a tall nose and deep eye sockets. He was smiling, but Anfey could tell he was a force to be reckoned with.

Saul's smile was replaced by a scowl. "What happened?"

"Nothing," the old man said, shaking his head. "Some rats tried to attack the palace. It is solved now."

"Evil Mist?"

The old man nodded.

"They dare to… Do they know Steger and I are away? Or did they already abandon Annunciata?"

"Who knows? Maybe it was just some foot soldier seeking glory. You should ask His Majesty those questions. I'm only in charge of eliminating the threat."

"How is His Majesty?"

"Alive."

"Take me there," Saul said. He paused, then asked, "Ernest, are you going?"

"No need," Ernest said. "I'll take them home."

Chapter 281: The Backscene of Mercenary Groups

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

The word "home" meant a warm and happy feeling. Travelers would shed tears, soldiers on the battlefield would regain their courage to fight to the death, merchants on business trips would want to go back home so badly when they thought about home. No matter how wonderful the world could be, no place would be better than home. The moment Anfey and his group walked into the house, they behaved so differently. Niya forgot she was the host of this house. She rushed into her own room without showing any hospitality. She even locked the door from the inside. No one knew what she was doing. Niya did not even join everyone for dinner. She took a walk in the backyard one lap after another. She used to be outgoing, but now she seemed to become a philosopher, indulging herself in thoughts.

Christian went directly to the magic lab. Magic labs were a necessity for mages to improve their understanding of magic and their control of elements. While he was on the run from the Sacred City, he could not find a magic lab anywhere. Christian had been waiting so long to be back to the lab. There seemed to be more unfamiliar guards in Saul's house, especially in the magic lab. The magic lab seemed to be strictly guarded. Many of the servants who worked for Saul before were still there. After Saul got back, those dismissed servants came back one after another. Under their guidance, Christian found his lab without any trouble.

Suzanna looked down. She told everyone she did not feel too good and excused herself to her own room. She went to sleep early. This was the house of Saul and Niya, not hers, which made her think about her own family. Suzanna looked sad when she thought about her own family. Anfey should have noticed why Suzanna was sad and should have come to comfort her, but he was quietly sitting on the roof of the main building. He looked far off into the dark sky.

He had his own home in his previous world, but not the village with a village head named Ben Ladeng. He did not have anyone he really cared about in his previous world. He only had memories of terror and hatred there, but these did not stop him from thinking about his past.

Anfey never smoked before, but he really wanted to do it right now. There were millions of stars in the sky. Where was his hometown? If the world where he was right now was parallel to the space he was in before, it would be boring and pointless to study the stars in the sky.

"Ernest, why did you turn down Saul's invitation? Don't you know what you did could make King Yolanthe mad at you?" Bruzuryano asked.

"I just do not want to go. It was not about turning him down," Ernest said slowly.

"You! Ernest, why are you always so stubborn. I think, besides King Yolanthe, no other kings would bear with you," Bruzuryano was loud enough that Anfey could hear him upstairs, and the bodyguards passing by probably could hear him as well. Anfey smiled. He knew what message Bruzuryano was trying to send to Ernest. Suddenly, Anfey felt tired and annoyed. He closed his eyes as he slowly took a deep breath. In his previous world, Anfey his biggest fears weren't fake information or how good his opponents. He most feared that there would be something wrong with him mentally. He could handle fake information or fighting skillful opponents with the accumulated experience and improved fighting ability. However, if he had mental damage, it would be hard to notice. Anfey was a secret patient of three the most experienced and famous psychologists in the world and liked to read psychology books himself.

People could mentally get tired, so could they get tired of love, career, or even video games. There was a time Anfey did not even want to open the family game web browser. Anfey had those depressing days, but struggled out of it very quickly.

Right now, Anfey was tired of these political dramas. He did not have an easy life these days. Whether it was Bruzuryano or Slanbrea. Neither of them were easy to understand. There were deeper meanings in what they did. Anfey had to get what they really meant before he could be comfortable around them. He would be taken advantage of until he got the hang of it. Right now he was about to meet Yolanthe. It was going to be a monumental moment. No matter what, he should not have this tired feeling.

It was normal to feel tired, but it also showed a sickness and abnormality. Natural selection and survival of the fittest showed the true nature of society. Being motivated and energetic were the basic skills for humans who wanted to be the fittest in the society. Without these two basic skills, no matter how powerful a person could be, he would go down eventually. Anfey recognized it so he looked down upon the philosophy in Buddhism. Buddhism originated in India, but the followers of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, could not survive there. The popularity of Buddhism in China was only because the upper classes needed the philosophy in Buddhism to reduce people's aggression.

When Anfey opened his eyes again, Anfey felt the sky had lost its mysteries, even though the sky was the same as before. Visually, stars were just twinkling lights. The sky had not changed, but Anfey's mood had changed. The wonders happened under the sky, not in the sky.

"Is there anything bothering you?" Ernest's voice came from behind.

"Not anymore," Anfey smiled.

"Do you miss home?" Ernest asked.

"This is my home," Anfey said.

"It will be great if you really think that way," Ernest said.

"It seems that nobody is sleeping well." Anfey changed the topic. Anfey saw Niya passing by. She had been walking around so many laps, but had not felt tired yet.

"You are young. I can understand it." Ernest laughed. "If it were me, I would have fallen asleep, sound sleep."

"Oh, right, Uncle Ernest, did you get your training in the Country of Mercenaries?" Anfey asked.

"Me?" Ernest dragged out the vowel. He looked like he was recalling old times.

"Of course. Master Ernest had a famous nickname too," Entos' voice rose.

"Oh? What nickname?" Anfey was suddenly intrigued.

Ernest cleared his throat to try to signal Entos to stop talking about it.

"A long time ago, when Master Ernest was young, he liked to fight for justice." Entos cautiously moved behind Anfey as he talked. "He liked to question others: 'You'd better ask if my sword would agree or not,' so…"

"Shut your mouth!" Ernest yelled.

"Actually even if I do not tell him, Anfey would find out about it anyways." Entos shrugged. "Anfey, did you ever mention Master Ernest in the Country of Mercenaries?"

"No." Anfey shook his head. Back then, he did not know how to keep a lower profile in the Country of Mercenaries. There was no reason for Anfey to talk about a top power all at the time.

"Too bad, too bad," Entos sighed. "You missed some amazing stuff."

Anfey looked at Ernest and smiled. He did not know Ernest had acted so impulsively when he was young.

"Entos, what are you doing up here?" Ernest said in a pissy tone.

Actually there was only about seven years difference between Ernest and Entos. When Ernest left the Country of Mercenaries, young Entos just started his own training there. He had heard so many stories about Ernest.

"I just learned about something about the Country of Mercenaries. I am quite happy about it so I want to share the news with someone," Entos said.

"What happened?" Anfey asked.

"Anthony has led Glory mercenary group and Tiger of Tawau mercenary group for their fight." Entos' smiles looked cunning. His whiskers were moving upwards as he talked. He just looked like a bad guy in a movie.

"How about Band of Brothers and Storm mercenary groups?" Anfey knew Entos must know some information behind the scenes because he was a vice commander in Band of Brothers mercenary group.

"This is their personal revenge between Anthony and Mourtta. It has nothing to do with us. We could just watch them," Entos said.

Anfey was shocked. "But…"

From the way Mourtta and Hotchbini interacted with each other, Anfey had noticed this couple wanted to drag other mercenary groups under the water. The bait they tossed at other mercenary groups was pretty hard to turn down. Mourtta and Hotchibini would rather destroy the most powerful Glory mercenary group than share the benefits with four other mercenary groups. Everybody wanted to maximize their profits. The claims from Band of Brothers and Storm mercenary groups meant they wanted to take action as well. Anfey did not think Entos was in the mood to watch them fight.

"Is it weird? It should not be weird." Entos smiled. "Anfey, what kind of people do you think Mourtta and Hotchibini are?"

"They have wonderful leadership qualities. They are aggressive leaders." Anfey did not know much about Mourtta and Hotchibini. He could only give this comment.

"Why has Tiger of Tawau mercenary group been ranked NO. 4 among other mercenary groups," Entos asked.

"Well..." Anfey said.

"Mourtta always looked silly in front of others. No one falls for that." Entos snorted. "Hotchibini is nobody special. She is just a sprite, a slave who serves their master with her beauty. How could she have so much influence in the Country of Mercenaries without Mourtta's support? The first few reforms were appropriate and helped get rid of the bad traditions in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. A female slave could not learn everything about mercenary groups so quickly. The so-called reforms were Mourtta's ideas!"

Anfey's jaw dropped when he heard this.

"No matter how hard Mourtta tried, his mercenary has been ranked the NO. 4, which means others are not stupid," Entos said slowly. "I could not deny Hotchibini is a capable sprite and has a good reputation in the Country of Mercenaries. At critical moments, no one could win a battle with a good reputation, only with good fighting ability. What Anthony has could totally change Hotchibini and Mourtta into nobodies. Their reputations and fake stupidity would be crushed as well."

"Three mercenary groups? That would still be too many. It might only two big mercenary groups left. My guess is the Storm mercenary group is thinking the same way."

Anfey felt something and started to fear Yolanthe, who was far from him in the palace. "If the commanders of the mercenary groups were so sophisticated and cunning, Yolanthe would be worse. Would the lies I fabricated fool Yolanthe?" he thought to himself.

Chapter 282: Scoundrel

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

Just then, everyone heard a snort from below. It wasn't hard to tell it was from Bruzuryano.

Entos lifted his brow and stroked his chin. He blinked a few times, as if thinking, then nodded slowly.

"It seems like Lord Bruzuryano is upset," Anfey said slowly.

"It's not hard to understand why. Druids are related to elves. I want to be related to elves too, but it seems that they do not like me," Entos said with a smirk. "Lord Bruzuryano, are you telling me that Hotchbini isn't an easy opponent?"

Bruzuryano did not say anything. Instead, he slammed his window shut.

Entos sighed and shook his head. "The great druid, the Guardian of the Goddess of Nature, seems to think we aren't worth his time." Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he turned to Anfey and said, "By the way, you should go check on that girl. I heard her crying when I was coming up."

"Really?" Anfey asked, frowning. Suzanna had always been strong, not only physically, but also emotionally. He had never seen Suzanna cry. She did not even cry after she had received severe injuries after killing the manticore. Why would she cry now?

"You better go talk to her," Entos said quietly. "Communication is the key to a healthy relationship. Or else you would…" Entos's voice trailed off. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

Anfey did not understand Entos's words, but Ernest did. He let out a long sigh and shook his head like Entos.

"Go ahead," Entos said, nudging Anfey on the shoulder. "I have to go. I have a new discovery."

"New discovery? What is it?" Anfey asked. Entos had already disappeared, however, and Anfey did not know if he had heard him.

"Go," Ernest said. "I need some rest as well."

—

Anfey hesitated when he saw the light peeking through the gap under the door. He took a deep breath, pushed open the door and walked inside. Usually, this was extremely rude, since the common courtesy was to knock and receive permission before entering. However, neither Anfey nor Suzanna cared much about common courtesy. They were close enough to consider themselves a single unit, so Anfey knew Suzanna wouldn't mind.

Maybe it was because Suzanna was too preoccupied, or maybe it was because Anfey hadn't announced himself, he went into the room just in time to see Suzanna wiping her eyes.

"Why don't we go and explore the city?" Anfey asked as he walked over. He pretended not to see Suzanna wiping her face and focused his attention on a candle on the table.

"I'm a bit tired," Suzanna said. "I don't want to move. Why aren't you resting?"

"Can't sleep," Anfey said. He snuffed out the candle and plunged the room into darkness. The only light source became the pale moonlight. "Suzanna, are you homesick?"

"Just a bit."

"Just a bit?" Anfey asked, moving closer to her.

Suzanna nodded but did not say anything else.

"Come here," Anfey said, reaching over. He touched her cheeks gently and found his fingers wet. "Were you crying?"

"No," Suzanna said, turning her face away. "Anfey, what happened on the way? Why don't I have any recollection of it? You were all looking at me weird, too. What happened?"

"Slanbrea tried to control you," Anfey said. "He let an angel possess you." Anfey decided to tell Suzanna the truth. Entos was right. He could not keep the secret away from her forever. Sooner or later he would slip. It was better to tell Suzanna now than to hide it from her.

"What?" Suzanna frowned and asked.

"Don't worry," Anfey said. "It's all over." Anfey caressed Suzanna's tear-stained cheeks gently and smiled. "Did you just say you weren't crying?"

"No, tell me," Suzanna said, backing away from Anfey's hand. "Tell me exactly what happened." She lost her memory of that time, which meant that the memories were traumatic and she had already suppressed them. Did she attack anyone during that time? She felt the question weighing down on her like a boulder.

"Slanbrea wanted to control you. Master Saul severely injured him. He was already dying anyway, so I took the opportunity and killed him."

"What about me? What was I doing?"

"You were kept away by Ernest."

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"Look around," Anfey said with a smile. "Everyone's safe."

Suzanna sighed with relief. "I can't believe it," she whispered, shaking her head.

"Don't worry. I won't let it happen again," Anfey said as he sat down on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Suzanna asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'm talking to you. It's been so long."

"What do you want to talk about, then?"

"About you. Your childhood. I want to know more about you," Anfey said, grinning.

"It's nothing interesting," Suzanna said, shaking her head. Thankfully, the room was dark enough to hide her blushing. She was a terrible liar.

"Do you not trust me?" Anfey asked. Here in Sacred City, the only person he could tease was Suzanna. Everyone else was so much better than he was and they could all see through his lies easily.

"Fine," Suzanna said with a sigh. "But you have to tell me about you, as well."

"Me? My story is boring."

"It seems like you don't trust me, either."

Anfey smiled and shook his head. "Alright. Well, I'm an orphan and this weird old man adopted me when I was young. I still don't know what his name was. He never told me and I never asked. He told me that I had potential and that I should become a swordsman."

"Then?" Suzanna asked, curious. They all knew that Anfey's teacher was a man who had entered the sacred state. For Suzanna, nothing was more interesting than that man.

"I was a lazy child. I didn't like swords. It's too much work, you see, so I always found excuses to go and play. He's good, though. No matter where I went, he could always find me."

Suzanna shook her head at his stupidity. "You are a fool," she said. She would give everything to study under a man that had entered the sacred state. If Anfey had studied then, he would be so much stronger now.

"Then Yagor came to my village one day and he took me to his island," Anfey continued. "I lived on that island for a few years with Yagor and his other charges. Yagor died in an accident. I met Master Saul after that and left the island."

"That's it?"

"Yes," Anfey said with a smile. He reached for her and draped his arm around her shoulder. "Then I met you." Suzanna frowned. She grabbed his hand and yanked it off of her shoulder.

Anfey grunted. His fingers were already injured, and Suzanna's grip was too strong. Of course, he wasn't in that much pain. It was mostly an act.

"What? Are you alright?" Suzanna asked hurriedly.

"You don't know? I hurt my fingers."

"No," Suzanna gasped. "Did it hurt?"

"What do you think?" Anfey asked. He stood up and walked towards Suzanna. Suzanna thought he was angry and was going to leave, so she was surprised when he pulled her up from the chair and wrapped his arm around her waist. He walked back to the bed and sat down, his arm still around her waist.

He did not tease her any longer, however, and let her go after a few moments.

"You should go rest," Suzanna said. "I don't want anyone to see us."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me more," Anfey said stubbornly.

"Fine," Suzanna said, shaking her head. Suzanna knew that Anfey was teasing her, but she didn't care. Anfey grinned.

Suzanna took a deep breath and said, "I'm not like you. I love the sword more than anything, and I can endure anything as long as I can become a swordsman. It's been like this since I was a young girl."