Chapter 171: Turning Against

“What does that guy want to do?” Christian asked with a frown.

What they were talking about right now would not necessarily decide their legion’s fate, but they still had to be careful. The few people in leadership roles were here, including Black Eleven. They finally settled down in Moramatch even though it was not all smooth. The Ozzic and his people’s sudden presence made everybody uneasy.

“Some people just love the world to be chaotic. They feel they can take advantage of chaos to achieve their dreams. I think Ozzic is one of them,” Anfey said slowly.

“Anfey, did you say they want to establish a union?” Black Eleven asked.

“Ozzic wanted it,” Anfey said.

“Great! We can use them to fight back Shansa Empire. It was originally their idea anyway,” Black Eleven said.

“You’d better know if they are thinking of using us to do something before you want to take advantage of them,” Anfey said.

“Do you mean…,” Black Eleven said.

“Ozzic had agreed with other mercenary groups to meet up at Moramatch, which meant he had already targeted Moramatch for some reason, known or unknown to others. In other words, he came here for us.”

Everybody looked at each other and went quiet.

“Anfey.” Ozzic walked in with big strides as he called out. Dozens of mercenaries followed Ozzic in. It was easy to tell that one of them was the leader, while others were just his followers.

“Anfey, why did you not attend the union meeting?” Ozzic smiled.

“I did, but they were looking for me, so I came back,” Anfey said casually.

“Please allow me to introduce these men. This is the commander of Warflame mercenary, Orsie. He is famous for being tough. This is Anfey, the commander of Alibaba mercenary group,” Ozzic said.

Anfey nodded at Orsie. Orsie was a young man around 24 or 25 years old. He looked normal but with an obvious military vibe. He nodded at Anfey as well. “I heard you beat Shansa Empire’s military badly, and they had to flee like rats. You defended our mercenaries’ honor. You are our hero.”

“It was a small cavalry unit. If Shansa Empire sent their main unit to Moramatch, I would run away like a mouse.” Anfey smiled.

“Interesting,” Orsie laughed with Anfey.

“This is the commander of Wuming mercenary group, Tiger.” Ozzic pointed at another guy.

Anfey followed Ozzic’s hand to take a look. The man was half beast and half man. His features as a beast were not obvious. His fur was not as thick and messy as the werewolves Anfey had seen before. His face was similar to humans, but his nose was not as tall as humans. It looked like someone punched his nose into his face. The tip of his nose was big and round, like a tiger’s nose.

As Anfey looked at him, Tiger was closely watching Anfey as well. Beasts had been looked down upon. They had been living in the human world for a long time, so they had developed a habit of quietly observing others’ attitudes and deciding what attitudes they would present in return.

“Hello.” Tiger nodded as well.

Commanders of the rest of mercenary groups introduced themselves one after another without Ozzic having to introduce them. Anfey did not show anything on his face, even though he may have thought negatively of them. He still greeted them politely.

“Anfey, on their behalf, I would like to invite you to join our union. What do you think?” Ozzic asked.

“I understand that no one can whistle a symphony; it takes a whole orchestra to play it. We have to be united to fight Shansa Empire. However, I would like to know who will be the leader of this union?” Anfey asked.

“We have not selected the leader yet, but I think he has to have a good name for himself, qualified, and trustworthy.” Ozzic smiled. “Please allow me to nominate one person for our leader. When Shansa Empire threatened our country, Anfey was the first to lead his legion to fight back. I never have any doubt about Anfey’s ability and position. I recommend Anfey to be the leader of our union. What do you think?”

“I don’t agree.” A woman called Elizabeth stood forward. She was the commander of a mercenary group. She had greeted Anfey very enthusiastically before, but also became the very first to disagree on the issue of having Anfey as the leader of the union. “Ozzic, you stated the necessary the qualifications of our union’s leader well. Our leader has to be well-known, qualified and trustworthy. I just want to ask one question. Can we trust him?”

A commander from another mercenary group snapped, “I first heard his name just two days ago. It would be a long time before we can trust him. Ozzic, if you insist on having him as our leader, I would take my people and leave the union.”

“Ok, we will talk about who is going to be the leader later.” Ozzic gave an awkward smile. “Let’s first talk about the pressing issue. It is not a small issue about feeding over a thousand people. It is commonly said that generals do not send their soldiers on the battlefields with empty stomachs. Nothing can be solved if we have hungry soldiers.”

“We have enough food supplies for seven days,” Elizabeth said.

“Mine is enough for four days,” a commander from another mercenary group said.

“We have prepared a lot, but there are a large number of mercenaries in my group. It should be fine for ten days. I promise everyone that we do not need to worry about food. I can find a solution for it. Anfey, how long would your food supplies last?” Ozzic said.

“A long time,” Anfey said casually.

“A long time does not mean anything. We have a lot of people here as well. I need to know how long will it last feeding over a thousand people,” Elizabeth said.

“I don’t think I am obligated to answer your question.” Anfey could neither be seduced by cajolery nor threatened by coercion. He was being polite to even answer the question.

“What do you mean?” Elizabeth said angrily.

“Everybody, calm down.” Ozzic hurried to mediate the situation. “Anfey, how about you take us to see where you store your food supply. Is it in the underground tunnels? We can help do the estimate.”

“Ozzic, you are asking me this as the leader of the union, friend or guest?” Anfey asked.

“Well, I am not the leader of the union,” Ozzic said, smiling bitterly.

“Then are you asking me as a guest? Don’t you think you are asking too much?” Anfey said.

“We have not chosen our leader for the union yet, but we still can make a decision by majority vote. This is the command from everyone here,” a commander said.

“Don’t. We can talk it out.” Ozzic sweated as he was getting worried. “Our union is just established. We are a family. Don’t do anything to hurt our brotherhood.”

“Majority rule? It’s a joke.” Anfey did not even look at Ozzic. “When did I say I would join your union?”

Some of them were shocked after they heard what Anfey said. Ozzic had his mouth open wide. They looked at each other. Elizabeth said slowly, “You don’t want to join the union? Ok, then we do not have to worry about you anymore. We are confiscating Moramatch now. Get out of Moramatch now. Immediately!”

“You must be kidding me. I rented Moramatch from Band of Brothers mercenary group. I am the legal renter of this town. If someone has to leave, it’s you,” Anfey said.

“Sorry, we think the reason that the Country of Mercenaries got to this point is that those four super mercenary groups did not do anything for us. The founding theory of our union is to clean up the corruption. The lease between you and Band of Brother mercenary group does not mean anything to us,” Elizabeth said.

“Anfey, calm down.” Ozzic stepped forward. “Our union is to fight against Shansa Empire. Didn’t you just say it’s better if we can work together? If we are not united, how could we fight against Shansa Empire?”

“I understand everything you said, but I do not agree with how you guys do things,” Anfey said disdainfully. “So, if I join your union, everything we own will be yours? I have seen many robbers, but this is the first time I have seen robbers could be so shameless. Our food supplies did not come from nowhere. You need supplies? No problem. We all have sympathies. I definitely would not want to see you guys starving to death. However, you have to exchange food for something else. A trade off.”

“Are you saying we have to buy the supplies from you?” Ozzic asked.

Anfey nodded.

“There is no point in making things complicated,” a commander said with a grin.

“Ozzic, I came to Moramatch to fight Shansa Empire. I am not here to see you guys bully others,” the commander from Warflame mercenary group, Orsie, said slowly. “Don’t go too far.”

“What do you want to do? Do you want to see our union disintegrate?” Ozzic yelled. He turned to Anfey and said politely, “Anfey, we are all mercenaries. We have the same enemy. Don’t be stubborn, ok?”

“I am not being stubborn. You guys are too greedy and arrogant,” Anfey said coldly, “Besides the food supplies, I have many other good things. Are they yours now too? Riska, pass me the magic scroll.”

Riska was shocked by Anfey’s request, since he was engaged in their conversation. He took out the magic scroll and passed it to Anfey.

“This is a series lightning magic scroll. I was mine. If you think it is yours now, you can take it from my hand.” Anfey played with the magic scroll in his hand. “Go ahead.”

Other objects could be faked, but not magic scrolls. The intense magic surges had proved it was an authentic senior magic scroll. Several commanders stared at the scroll.

Chapter 172: Terror

Anfey’s provocative actions angered the mercenaries. One of the leaders stepped forward and tried to grab the scroll from Anfey. Suzanna stepped in and slashed her sword at the mercenary leader. She knew that Anfey only wanted to scare them, and did not want to kill them. Because of this, her movements were slower than they normally would have been. However, the light of her combat power was blinding and scared the mercenaries.

The mercenary leader jumped back in shock and drew his own sword. He pointed it at Suzanna, but did not attack. Instead, he kept backing up toward his own men.

There were a lot of swordsmen in the world, but a senior swordsmaster was still rare. Tiger of Tawau mercenary could hold Blackwater City because of three senior swordsmasters. A small mercenary group could never afford to hire a senior swordsmaster. Suzanna’s combat power was very pure and bright, and any swordsman could tell that this was a sign that she was close to a breakthrough.

The mercenary leaders all took a step back. Their glances fell on Suzanna, then back to Anfey. Country of Mercenaries was a place of the survival of the fittest. Usually, the leader of a group was the most powerful person, or else it would be hard to control his mercenaries. If the deputy leader was a senior swordsmaster, how powerful must the leader be? A master swordsman or an archmage?

Anfey held up a finger arrogantly and flicked it. Suzanna returned her sword to her sheath and walked back to stand behind Anfey. Anfey must be even more powerful than Suzanna if he could command a senior swordsmaster.

“Calm down, everyone, we are allies!” Ozzic called.

“That’s what you think,” Anfey said. “I don’t think you qualify as my ally.”

“Don’t be so arrogant. We have thousands of men outside,” one of the leaders said.

“Is that a lot?” Anfey asked. “I did not tell you earlier, but it wasn’t a cavalry squadron that attacked us. It was a two thousand elite riders led by Kumaraghosha himself. If my men can defeat them, we can defeat you as well.”

“What?” Ozzic asked, shocked.

“I told you. You said there was another reason. You see now? They must have done it!” Elizabeth said quietly.

“There are a lot of villages near the Transverse Mountains. Why did Kumaraghosha attack Moramatch?” If it was just him, Anfey wanted to put these mercenaries into their places. However, he could not act based on his emotions. Even kings had to fear other, more powerful beings, let alone a small mercenary group that was just started. He didn’t want unnecessary conflict. He wanted to instill some fear into these mercenaries without shedding any blood.

“Why is that?” he repeated. “But I led my mercenaries on a mission that destroyed a Griffins Aerial Squadron. Kumaraghosha had to take this town to prove his innocence. Clearly, he failed.”

“It’s impossible,” Ozzic whispered. Griffins Aerial Unit was not as terrifying as Dark Moon Magic Legion or the Roaring Dead Legion, but it was still a formidable army. Defeating them might be possible, but destroying them was nothing short of a miracle. Ozzic did not believe this mercenary group could manage it.

“I didn’t need to lie. You will be hearing about the news very soon,” Anfey said slowly. “I am telling you this because I want to give you a warning. We are all mercenaries, and I don’t want any bloodshed.”

The mercenary leaders glanced at each other. They were not sure about Anfey’s strength, but they didn’t want to retreat like cowards. They were unsure whether the things Anfey boasted of were true or not. Ozzic had told them about Alibaba mercenary group, and they knew that it consisted of about twenty mages. The mercenaries still had hope because of their advantage in numbers.

“You need to earn my trust. Right now you are not worthy of staying here. Christian, send our guests away.”

Christian knew Anfey. When Anfey was trying to scare his opponent, it meant that he didn’t want to do anything. If he was playing nice when he was being threatened and reprimanded, he was about to kill.

Christian rose into the air and retrieved a magic scroll from his ring. The strong magic surge coming off of the scroll told everyone that it was a high tier magic scroll. Zubin and Blavi retrieved their scrolls and gathered around Christian.

The mercenaries stared with wide eyes. For them, having a scroll like this might be lifesaving. They would carry it around on their person at all time, and would not use it unless in a dire situation. If Anfey’s men could use scrolls like this on a whim, what else did they have in store? If this was just what they showed the mercenaries, how many more secrets were they hiding?

“Ozzic, are we leaving?” one of the mercenary leaders asked.

“Let’s fight,” another said. “We have the advantage.” He did not want to back down easily. Ozzic’s promise of wealth was still in his mind. He was a mercenary, and threats like this could not scare him.

“Anfey!” Hagan called as he dashed towards the group. “Let me join as well!”

Anfey turned and frowned. He knew Hagan’s power and limits very well. Hagan was not an idiot, and he knew better than to trouble everyone during a fight. Anfey knew Hagan should know better, but he couldn’t outright deny his request. If he agreed, Hagan might cause trouble. He could only nod slightly, and let Hagan decide for himself.

“Under the name of Beast God, I summon you!” Hagan waved his hand, and a cloud of white powder appeared. The powder swirled in the wind, and a loud roar was heard. In a few seconds, a twenty-feet tall creature appeared out of thin air.

The beast appeared very ferocious. Its head was that of an alligator, but a hundred times larger. As it roared, rows of jagged teeth shone. Clearly, the beast was large enough to swallow a cow whole. Its red eyes shone mercilessly, and its body was covered by hairs as sharp as needles. Its body was thick and strong. The sharp nails on its claws were almost two feet long. If the claws hit a person, it would surely cause terrible injuries.

“A behemoth!” one of the leaders called out in terror and scrambled backwards.

The other leaders dashed away from the behemoth as well. Ozzic stumbled back and stared at the creature in horror.

“Fight for me!” Hagan ordered loudly.

The behemoth stepped forward, and the ground shook under its paws. It waved its claw, and a sixty foot tall ancient tree was cut in half by its sharp nails. The tree fell to the ground and crashed one of the dwarf residents. The behemoth proved that it was a real, living thing, and not an illusion.

Ozzic retreated quickly. The mercenaries placed at least a hundred feet between themselves and the behemoth before stopping. The behemoth was on par with creatures like dragons and titans, and hadn’t been sighted in years. For humans, only grandmaster swordsmen and archmages could put up a fight against a behemoth. Others could hardly be a threat to the creature.

Even a senior swordsmaster was rare among the mercenaries, let alone archmages and grandmaster swordsmen. The behemoth’s appearance had crushed the only bits of confidence the mercenaries had.

Anfey had prepared for a surprise because of Hagan’s sudden change, but he was shocked as well. Hagan saw his companions’ shock, and was very satisfied. In the past, he had always hidden when there was a fight. Now he had a chance to show his power. The behemoth walked towards the mercenaries slowly. The ground shook as if there was a giant heart beating under the earth.

“This is all a misunderstanding!” Ozzic called in terror. “Please give us a moment!”

“Hagan, take the beast away,” Anfey ordered. The behemoth was too shocking, and he was worried whether Hagan could control it. If he had lost control of the behemoth and it turned on them, they would turn into a laughingstock.

Chapter 173: Resurrected Beasts

“We are leaving now,” Ozzic said with a forced smile. He turned around and walked out. Commanders of the other mercenary groups followed him. The situation overpowered them. The super magic beast’s presence did not allow them to “stay” anymore. If there were any conflict, a behemoth could kill them all. The behemoth would not even have to kill them with weapons. When a behemoth ran through the crowd, it could slash a path. Many ants could eat an elephant, but the key would be the large number of ants. Without several hundred thousand people, they could not hope to win the fight.

“Orsie, thank you for speaking up for us. If you would like, your mercenary group can stay in Moramatch,” Anfey said slowly. He had a good impression of Orsie. He had spoken up for Anfey in that difficult situation, which meant he had moral lines that no one could cross. He would not do anything against his will. He was upright and direct. Anfey liked to collaborate with these kinds of people because he felt relaxed around them, and none of them had malicious intent.

“Thank you, but I would like to be with my friends,” Orsie said casually.

Anfey was shocked by his answer for a second. He did not say anything to Orsie. It looked like Orsie did not buy Anfey’s nice offer, but thinking at a deeper level, it was easy to tell Orsie would not easily bend with the wind. He would not go along with the crowd. He spoke up for Anfey out of morality and justice. The reason he chose to stay with Ozzic was also out of a sense of morality and justice, since he had been invited there by Ozzic.

Seeing Ozzic and his followers leaving, the short-tempered Sante landed from the air. He nervously looked at the behemoth making threatening gestures. He grabbed Hagan’s collar, “Is this behemoth your magic beast? Damn! Why did you not tell us until now?”

This was really happening between true friends. Even though Hagan had a scary behemoth, Sante still dared to grab Hagan’s collar. If Hagan had several gigantic dragons, Sante still might have grabbed his collar. If he had been a middle-aged man and had grown very sophisticated, he probably could have controlled his emotions, but Sante was still very young. He had a firm belief that friendship would not change because their social status had changed.

“Let it go, let it go,” Hagan yelled as he struggled to get away from Sante. “Are you a f*#king mage or sword? I cannot breathe.”

“Tell me right now why you have a behemoth,” Sante raised his voice.

“Sante, let him go,” Anfey said quietly. “You are not the only one wanting badly to know it. We are all waiting to ask him.”

Christian, Zubin and Blavi landed from the air. Anfey, Suzanna and the others had crowded Hagan into the center. They looked quite different from each other though. They all knew how powerful a super magic beast could be. With such help in the legion, they all wanted to know the real story behind it.

Suddenly, the behemoth stopped screaming and threatening them. The gigantic body had turned into millions of grains of powder and blown away in the wind. The behemoth disappeared, which made everyone think something had gone wrong with their eyes or they just had a weird dream.

“What happened?” Christian asked in surprise. “Hagan, tell us please.”

“Do you remember the magic beast bones in the werewolve’s chamber? They are behemoth’s.” Hagan gave Sante a dirty look as he rubbed his neck. “It was actually really easy. I made some resurrecting potion. With behemoth bones, I can make a behemoth.”

“It does make sense.” Anfey looked at the ancient tree, which had been broken by the behemoth. The behemoth also had destroyed houses. “The behemoth was alive. He was not an illusion.”

“Of course, it was a real behemoth.” Hagan laughed. “Unfortunately, the behemoth made with resurrecting potion could only live for a very short period of time. If they could live forever, hahaha…”

“If they could live forever, every alchemist would be invincible. You wish.” The corners of Suzanna’s mouth curled into a frown. She still held onto the grudge over being suppressed by the behemoth’s power before.

“This is what made our alchemists feel bad about our alchemy,” Hagan sighed. “When I learned to make resurrecting potion for the first time, I thought it was the trashiest of all the potions. Not useful at all.”

“Why would you say so?” Christian asked.

“For example, if we had found the bones of a unicorn and made a real unicorn with the resurrecting potion, his speed and attacking power would be less than one tenth of the real unicorn’s. He would barely be a match for a few magic wolves. His existence is short, so he could be disappeared before even the battle ended”, Hagan said as he shook his head. “I just realized now that our ancestors would not study any unpractical stuff. Senior magic beasts could represent the power of resurrecting potion. If we can collect more super magic beasts’ bones, think about; as long as we have enough bones, I can even make a giant dragon aerial unit. Even if it could only last for a short time, it still could beat the ass off any opponent.”

“Are you saying the behemoth you made has less than one tenth the battle power of a real behemoth?” Anfey asked.

“Yes,” Hagan said.

“I see now,” Christian suddenly realized something.

“What did you get?” Anfey asked.

“Behemoths’ screaming is extremely powerful. The sound waves from their screaming

could knock anyone down within one hundred yards. That behemoth’s screaming only made those mercenaries scared, but without any real attacking effects,” Christian said.

When Christian spoke, everyone seemed to realize it as well. Hagan laughed. “Do you

realize there is no way I could get control of a real behemoth?”

“Hagan, what contributes to keep resurrected magic beasts for a long time?” Anfey

asked.

“The purity of the resurrecting potion and my telephathy,” Hagan responded.

“How many bones are left? How many beasts can you make?” Anfey asked.

“There were some bones missing. I used some for experiments. I think I could make two magic beasts out of the leftover bones,” Hagan said.

“Does that mean you can make two magic beasts when we need them?” Anfey asked.

The presence of the super magic beast could change their disadvantaged position in battle. Anfey needed to get a precise answer.

“No, my resurrecting potion is gone. I do not have ingredients to make more,” Hagan said.

“Black Eleven, you will be in charge of getting any ingredient Hagan needs. You need to get them for Hagan as fast as possible,” Anfey said.

“No problem,” Black Eleven said with a nod.

“Hui Wei. Where is Hui Wei?” Hagan suddenly called for Hui Wei.

“Here, what’s up?” Hui Wei took his time walking out after he heard Hui Wei’s calling.

“Hui Wei, you have been interested in ancient relics. You must know where the dragon tombs are,” Hagan said urgently. “I suggest our mercenary group’s mission is digging as many of the dragon tombs as possible: Titan Cemetery, Demon Cave, Bliss Land and as many others as possible. As long as we have enough bones, we would have the power to do anything.” Hagan’s eyes brightened. As the only alchemist in the legion, Hagan received considerable attention in the legion. He had won everyone’s admiration today after he was able to recreate the behemoth. Admiration and high attention were totally different. Hagan felt he could do so much and had so much hope. The hopes he had were like symphonies, getting more exciting one after another. He even daydreamed to remake thousands of super magic beasts to win everywhere on Pan Continent.

“Alright, Hagan, you are not the only alchemist in this world. What you have thought of, I believe, other alchemists have thought of as well. The reason we have not come across any superpower alchemists was the number of super magic beasts were far less than alchemists. It was really lucky of you to be able to find the behemoth’s bones,” Christian said slowly.

Christian’s talk was like a double whammy. Hagan’s face suddenly turned pale. He grabbed Hui Wei even harder. “Hui Wei, you say something. You must know, right?”

“Are you crazy? I don’t know about it. Even if I knew, I would let everyone die for it.” Hui Wei shook his head.

“Don’t do this to me, Hui Wei. Help me, please.” Hagan had a hard time letting it go.

“Dragon tombs? There are spirit dragons in each dragon tomb to protect it. How are we going to beat spirit dragons?” Hui Wei pushed Hagan away. “Titan cemetery has countless stone people and robotics. There are also as many gargoyles as flies. They could bury you there like nothing. The Flaming Demons in Demon Cave are vicious as well. They could turn us into powder in a blink of eyes. Hagan, you need calm down.”

Hui Wei talked very reasonably. Hagan was very disappointed and had his head down. He became quiet.

“Hagan, why don’t you think about what you can do to improve the battle power of resurrected magic beasts instead of thinking of collecting more super magic beast bones,” Christian said with a smile.

“Huh?” Hagan lifted his head. “Christian, what do you mean by that?”

“You just said that the purity of the potion and your telepathy contribute to the power of recreated magic beasts. If you improved the purity of the potion and your telepathy, you might recreate a magic beast that would not disappear forever. You would have magic beast pets, and not just one,” Christian said.

“Stop playing with me.” Hagan became disappointed. “The master alchemists in the legend could not even do that, not to mention me,” Hagan said.

“How many of those master alchemists in the legend could collect a large amount of super magic beasts bones?” Christian asked.

Hagan blinked. Christian’s advice was a lot subtler than Hui Wei’s. The master alchemists in the Sacred Battle could not collect a large amount of super magic beasts. Neither could any alchemist do it in their time.

“Ok, everyone go to sleep.” Anfey waved his hand with a bitter smile. “Hagan, everyone was thinking for you. Your ideas were not practical. You need to calm down a little bit.”

Chapter 174: Different Paths

After seeing a living behemoth, the mercenaries all left the town during the night, and the town returned to its former peaceful state. After a few days of peace, Black Eleven, who left the town to collect supplies for Hagan, brought in shocking news. The conflict between Glory mercenary and Tiger of Tawau mercenary had escalated into a full-scale war. Even Shansa and Ellison Empire’s caravans had not been not spared.

The mercenaries who gathered at Moramatch were not the only ones angered by the wrongdoings of the four major mercenary groups. Despite ending in failure, the alliance inspired thousands of other mercenaries. Six large coalitions formed, and more than four thousand mercenaries were on their way to the Transverse Mountains. Their target was very clear. They wanted to drive out the Shansa soldiers. These mercenary coalitions all wanted to expand their power and ensure a position of power for themselves. What could they do to make a name for themselves? Victories and blood of their foes. Therefore, the mercenaries had become even more methodical and ruthless.

Not only the supplies lines were targeted. Even full size armies were not spared by the mercenaries’ tactics. Mercenaries may not have as much people as a full size army, but they mastered element of surprise. No one knew the mountains as well as the mercenaries, and the Shansa army could not defend themselves against the gorilla strategy of the mercenaries. Shansa Empire was losing men at a staggering rate.

Band of Brother mercenary was a major mercenary group, and was the first to send out spies against Shansa Empire. Due to the chaos in Country of Mercenaries and the arrival of Maho Empire’s golden knight Miorich at Blackanis City, the chance of victory for Shansa Empire was very slim. That, and the sudden riots in the eastern coastal region, led Edward the VIII to recognize the improbability of winning the war, and he began to recall his armies.

For Yolanthe, this was amazing news, and he was greatly relieved. This allowed him to put his plans into actions. For Anfey and his companions, however, this was terrible news. The mercenaries that were gathered at Moramatch before knew that Alibaba mercenary was the one that destroyed the Griffins Aerial Squadron, and so did Kumaraghosha. This news had already spread throughout Shansa armies and Country of Mercenaries. Alibaba mercenary had became an almost legendary mercenary group. Sometimes too much fame was not a good thing. Anfey was confident that he could defeat a thousand men, but some sources stated that the first group of Shansa soldiers that were recalled had thirty thousand men. What if these men wanted revenge for the Aerial Squadron?

After the news arrived, Anfey and his men sat around in a circle, silently, with their heads down. A few days ago, they had defeated a group of mercenaries and defended their territory. Now, the threat was much greater than a few mercenaries.

To make things worse, Black Eleven and his men were attacked by a group of mercenaries on the way back to Moramatch, and the supplies they bought for Hagan were mostly lost. Only two men made it back to the town alive.

Most of the mercenaries wanted to serve their country, and that was why they were gathered at the Transverse Mountains. However, their leaders had other plans. This was the first and only chance since the founding of the Country of Mercenaries that they could challenge the leadership of the four major mercenary groups. If they could make the other coalitions disappear and take their men, then the future Country of Mercenaries would be ruled by five major mercenary groups. This made the leaders of the coalitions very excited.

Due to their ambitions, the coalitions had conflicts not only with the Shansa armies, but also with each other. Spies were spotted throughout the coalitions, and there was countless backstabbing. Some coalitions even set up ambushes for the other coalitions. This made the situation even more chaotic. The mercenaries were no strangers to tactics like this, but now they were even more reckless. They were willing to do everything for their future. Luckily, these mercenaries were still in the minority, or else Edward VIII would not order the retreat of his army.

Anfey was worried. He knew that he could afford to fight against a proper army, but it was not the right time to leave the town, either. Dwarves and gnomes aside, there were hundreds of people in the mercenary group, each with personal possessions. If they were to leave Moramatch, it would result in a long caravan. That was an invitation to bandits and rogue mercenaries. Even if some members of the group stayed behind, the town was surely being watched by other mercenaries. If the few that did leave were surrounded by mercenaries, they were as good as dead.

Everyone was deep in thought when Christian spoke up, “Why don’t we split up?”

“Split up?”

“We put all of our elites into one team. That team will be responsible for getting the mercenaries’ attention. The rest could take shelter in the underground tunnels when the attention was on the other team.” Christian paused for a moment before continuing, “Anfey, all the mercenaries know you already. Why don’t you lead the team and make those people think we had all left the town.”

“We need someone here as well. I was the one in charge of finding the dwarves and exploring the caves. I know this town,” Christian said with a grin. “Take Suzanna with you. It is much more dangerous out there.”

“What about here? What if Shansa Empire attacks the tunnels?”

“What Shansa Empire needs to do right now is get their armies back to Shansa safely. They don’t have a lot of time. I don’t think they can afford launching a full scale attack right now,” Christian said. “I won’t try to defend the tunnels. Don’t forget, we have Hagan on our side. If we are attacked, we still have the behemoth.”

“Hagan, how much supplies do you have left? How many times can you summon the behemoth?”

“Once,” Hagan said.

Christian frowned and looked at Hagan. Hagan touched his forehead and said, “No, no, I was wrong. I can summon it three more times.”

For someone as observant as Anfey, Christian’s gesture did not escape him. However, he didn’t want to point it out. “It’s not enough,” he said.

“I can’t do it more than three times,” Hagan said. “I can make the potion, but I can’t just make behemoth bones.”

“If Shansa Empire put you under siege, what are you going to do?” Anfey turned to Christian and asked.

“It’s very unlikely.”

“What if it happens?”

“Take Riska with you. You can ambush them.”

“Shansa Empire doesn’t have a lot of mages, but there have got to be at least a few dozen in an army of thirty thousand. We wouldn’t even have time to ambush them.”

“That’s a problem for you to solve,” Christian said, “not me. Take Niya with you. She hates the tunnels. I tried to convince her to go with me, but she refused every time. If she had to spend days down there, she would go mad.”

Anfey frowned. Christian’s words sounded like a dying man’s last will, and it made him very uncomfortable. He knew that Christian came from a wealthy family. Anfey might not have agreed with Christian’s plan, but was impressed that he was willing to take up the responsibility of protecting his friends.

“No. It would be burdensome for me to go with him.” Surprisingly, Niya rejected Christian’s plan.

Christian smiled and shook his head, but did not say anything else. Proposing this plan might have already tipped off some of the more insightful people about his true intention. He didn’t want it to be more obvious.

Anfey glanced at Niya. Everyone grows as time goes on and as they accumulate experiences, and Niya was no exception. Anfey had been ignoring Niya, and he was surprised by her mature response.

“Anfey, you have to decide,” Black Eleven said quietly. “I think Christian has a good plan. We have to split into two groups. If Shansa Empire really wants revenge, you can save us from the outside. If we are all stuck inside the city, it is over.”

“He’s right, Anfey. You have to pick,” Zubin said.

“You have to come with me. You’ve spent the most time in Country of Mercenaries, and you know this place the best,” Anfey said. “Black Eleven, Suzanna, Riska, and I. Just the four of us.”

“Shouldn’t you pick a few more?” Christian frowned and asked.

“This is enough,” Anfey reassured him.

Chapter 175: Amazing Discovery

Anfey, Suzanna and a few others had quietly left Moramatch before the dawn, while Christian led the rest of the legion into the underground tunnels. The experiences in the magic world had made Anfey realize how hard it could be just to survive. Almost everyone in the legion, and every legion, had to experience difficulties as they grew. In addition to their experiences after the Sacred City, they had encountered many difficulties since they came to the Country of Mercenaries. Of course, there were legions that made their names quickly with their supreme battle powers, which was also because they had perfect timing. Most people had to stumble through the difficulties.

Anfey’s legion had the best people among all of the mercenary groups. In addition to Anfey and Suzanna, Riska and Christian were junior magisters. They carried six senior magic scrolls in case of any danger. That meant they could become senior magisters or even archmages in a very short time with the release of magic scrolls. Black Eleven had lived in the Country of Mercenaries for a long time, so he was familiar with everything in the Country of Mercenaries. He could report to the spies in other departments to ask for help if they were in any danger.

Anfey did not ask too much from them, but their jobs were not easy either. They needed to fight and flee as needed. These few people met Anfey’s requirements.

Anfey and his small group of companions travelled 50 miles while it was still dark. They did not stop walking until the sun sent shimmering rays. They were already deep in the Hengduan Valley, where different mercenary groups came often. They decided to take a break in case they ran into other mercenary groups.

Black Eleven took out the bread he brought with him and passed it around to everyone. The bread was so dry that it was far from being delicious. Luckily Anfey and his group were tough people. They took the breads and ate them quickly.

“Anfey, what is your plan?” Black Eleven said in a low voice.

“We will travel to the west to look for Shansa Empire’s army. We will see what happens when we find them,” Anfey said.

“If that union of mercenary groups found out no one is in Moramatch, would they want to do something to the underground tunnels?” Riska asked.

“I don’t think so,” Black Eleven spoke for Anfey. “The news that Shansa Empire has retreated is out. How much stuff can they confiscate from us? How much supplies does Shansa Empire’s military have? If they decide to rob only once, they would rob Shansa Empire’s military, since it should be enough for their whole lives.”

“They have thirty thousand elite soldiers. Unless all the mercenary groups in the Country of Mercenaries unite together, they are just asking to be killed” Riska said.

“Shansa Empire asked the main force of thirty thousand soldiers to withdraw for a reason. Shansa Empire wanted those thirty thousand soldiers to ensure the safety of Hengduan Valley. It means that those thirty thousand soldiers would not always stick together all the time, which would give mercenaries an opportunity to make a surprise attack on them,” Black Eleven said.

“Someone is coming.” Anfey suddenly stopped their conversation. A few birds flew out of the trees at the foot of the hill. They flew a good distance away without any thought of staying.

Anfey waved his hand. Suzanna and the others jumped into the trees and hid themselves in the tree crowns to quietly watch their surroundings.

Before long, two people stumbled outside the forest. They had to pass a grassland no matter whether they wanted to walk along the valley floor or climb up on the hill. The two people hesitated for a second. Obviously, they did not want to walk over that grassland. One of them suddenly screamed in pain and fell on the ground, while the other one rushed forward without even thinking about which route to choose or looking after his companion.

He was only able to run a dozen steps before a black ball-like object flew out of the forest and hit the guy right on the back. A mage in a black gown slowly walked out of the forest as the guy was falling on the ground. Anfey and his companions could not see the mage’s face, since his head was fully covered by the black hood. The mage tucked his hands into his sleeves. From a distance, he looked like a black phantom.

The mage looked like he was afraid of sunlight. He raised his arm to cover his face with the sleeves. He slowly walked to the guy who had fallen on the grass. He did a rough search of the guy and hurriedly retreated to the forest.

Homicide usually happened and ended very quickly. Before Anfey could decide whether he should help, everything went back to normal.

“He looked like a necromancer,” Black Eleven said quietly.

“I think so too,” Riska added.

Everyone laid their eyes on Anfey. Necromancers were hated by everyone. When educated people saw something like this happen, their first reaction would be to chase after the necromancer and kill him. Anfey was the leader of the legion, so they had to listen to Anfey’s instruction before they could take action.

“Black Eleven, which mercenary group has necromancers?” Anfey asked quietly.

“No mercenary group would like to take a necromancer into their legion,” Black Eleven said, shaking his head.

“He must not be a mercenary, right?” Anfey asked.

“No, he is not a mercenary,” Black Eleven said.

“Look, those two dead bodies moved,” Suzanna muttered urgently.

Everybody turned to look. The two dead bodies did move, but their moves looked quite different. The one laying on the grass screamed, but that screaming did not sound like a human scream. Clouds of black smog arose from his body and got darker and darker.

There was smog rising from the other dead body as well. However, when he crawled back to the forest and got away from the sunlight, the smog disappeared.

The screaming sounded horrifying and it got louder, then gradually quieted down. He could not even struggle any more at the end. Only smog kept rising up from him. His companion walked to the forest like a robot.

“It’s a zombie. Bastard! That evil necromancer turns humans into zombies in broad daylight,” Riska yelled in anger.

“A zombie?” Anfey was shocked. He had never seen a zombie in real life before. He had only seen zombies in the movies. “Let’s go and take a look.”

They jumped out of the trees and rushed towards the dead body on the grass. Flying in the air could be easily noticed by that necromancer. Riska had learned to be cautious. He did not use levitation magic. He just followed behind everyone.

By the time Anfey had reached to the dead body, it already had been burned into ashes by the sunlight. The black smog was actually the clouds of ashes. The ashes fell back to the ground after they rose up high in the air. Anfey did not want to walk under the ashes, so he stepped back to observer the dead body.

“Anfey, I suspect that necromancer is with Evil Mist,” Black Eleven said sadly.

“Evil Mist?” Suzanna did not understand.

“Evil Mist?” Anfey was shocked. After he came to Pan Continent, he had few contacts with the people from Evil Mist. Although he had beat all of them, Professor Saul thought it was because Anfey had the advantage that his opponents underestimated him. They could not be nobodies if Archmage Saul thought they were hard to deal with. If Evil Mist sent the good ones from their organization to fight with Anfey, he should be concerned. Right now, they had not taken care of the threats from Shansa Empire’s military. They were surrounded by mercenaries with evil intentions towards them. Anfey did not want to have any other enemies. However, things could just happen in a way they did not want. Anfey felt really helpless.

“Weird. Why would the people from Evil Mist be here?” Black Eleven asked with a confused look.

“I am not from Evil Mist. Why are you asking me?” Anfey heaved a slight sigh. “Are you sure?”

“Necromancers are loners. They could not survive on Pan Continent. No matter if they are willing or not, they have to rely on others.” Black Eleven smiled bitterly. “Necromancers were cursed by gods. As far as I know, only Evil Mist would take necromancers without any concerns. I heard two of the leaders in Evil Mist are senior necromancers.”

“Anfey, let’s follow him and kill him,” Riska surprised everyone and said worriedly. “I can sense that zombie. As long as we follow that zombie, we surely could find that necromancer.”

“It would not be that easy.” Anfey shook his head. “Is there any mercenary group in the Country of Mercenaries with only two people in it?”

“Anfey, are you saying their whole mercenary group was killed by that necromancer? Only two of them got the chance to escape?” Black Eleven had the fastest response.

“Yes, they must have been fleet of foot,” Anfey said.

“There are not many magic beasts in the Hengduan Valley. Not many mercenaries want to come here for their assignments. The mercenary groups who gathered in Hengduan Valley were all from the union. Could a necromancer kill the whole union?” Black Eleven said. His smile was getting rigid. “It could not be like that, could it? That union has at least five or six hundred mercenaries. What kind of necromancers could ambush them? I had a few contacts with necromancers. That one was not that powerful.”

“What if it was not just one necromancer, what if there were a group of them?” Anfey asked.

“A group…” Black Eleven murmured to himself. The smile on his face looked more fake.

“When did necromancers get the guts?” Suzanna asked with a bitter smile. She had never seen a necromancer before, but she knew how powerful those necromancers could be. Hearing the possibility that a group of necromancers were in the Hengduan Valley had her nervous.

“Anfey, should we let the union of those mercenaries know about it?” Riska asked.

“Would they believe what we tell them? Necromancers would not pose too much of a threat, to us but to other mercenary groups they would. I think they would fight us if we tell them we are from Alibaba mercenary group.” Anfey shook his head. He hesitated for a second and said, “We’d better go with your suggestion for now.”

“My suggestion? To notify other mercenary groups?” Riska asked.

“No, to follow the zombie to see what that necromancer would do?”

Chapter 176: Threat

Zombies were slow creatures, and it wasn’t hard following one even in the forest. To avoid being detected by the necromancers, Anfey and his companions would purposefully lag behind. They took that time to observe their surroundings and make sure nothing was following them.

The longer they follow the zombies, the more terrifying it became. In the beginning, there were only a few zombies. As time wore on, more zombies appeared. Some rats and dogs wanted to feast on the dead bodies’ flesh, but one bite was all it took to turn the creatures into zombies that followed the line. Ants climbed out of their dens, hoping for a good meal. Their small bodies stood no chance against the power of the necromancers. The stiff ants fell off of the zombies like raindrops.

The zombies’ speed increased significantly as they marched on. By dusk, the zombies roared at the same time, as if they sensed that their god had taken control of the world again. Anfey stopped. Judging from the sound, there should be hundreds of zombies present. Even the most powerful Suzanna’s expression changed from confidence to dread.

Normal zombies were not terrifying, but judging from the attire of these zombies, they were once mercenaries. If any of the men had combat power before their deaths, the combat power would be preserved even in death. Fighter zombies were much harder to fight than the normal zombies. Fighter zombies were extremely agile, had strong bodies, and were immune to magic.

This was not the worst thing. If there were hundreds of zombies, the necromancers might want the zombies to fight each other until the creation of killer zombies. Killer zombies were only created when master swordsmen were killed by necromancers. The power of a killer zombie could be as powerful as a dark knight.

If this group of zombies really gave birth to a killer zombie, and Anfey and his men were discovered, they would be as good as dead.

“Should we keep going?” Black Eleven asked. “The zombies are much more sensitive in the dark. They can easily discover us.”

“I’m not scared of the zombies. I’m scared that the necromancers will create a killer zombie,” Riska sighed and said. “If so, we are done.”

“Killer zombie?” Anfey asked. He wasn’t very familiar with the ranks of the zombies. He had spent some time in the Evil Abyss, but everything in the abyss existed as spirits. Since the spirits considered themselves to be superior, they did not care for physical beings. Anfey did not know anything about zombies.

“Normally, necromancers wouldn’t bother to create killer zombies, because they can’t control creatures like that,” Suzanna said quietly.

“Explain to us why the necromancers are driving the zombies to the same place then,” Riska said.

“Maybe they have an agenda we do not know.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Black Eleven said. “Even though Country of Mercenaries isn’t blessed by the Church of Light…”

“Wait, are all the countries blessed by the Church?” Anfey asked.

“Most of them are,” Suzanna said.

“I’ve never heard anything about the Church or Priest of Light in the Sacred City.”

“It’s a long story,” Black Eleven said. After a few moments of silence, he said, “Church of Light was originally founded to defend the world against dark magic and creatures. In the beginning, the Church was supported by all nations. However, as time went on, the Church became much more powerful than everyone had intended it to be. It required the citizens of every nation to convert and interfered with the politics of the nations. The Church even had a say on matters of succession. This caused the kings to dislike the Church, and they united against the Church. In the end the Church conceded its rights and promised not to interfere with the countries again.”

“What happened to Country of Mercenaries, then?”

“The people of this country worship freedom,” Black Eleven responded. “They do not want the Church dictating what they can and cannot do. When Country of Mercenaries was founded, the mercenaries denied the Church’s request to build churches and preach in the country. This made the priests very angry. One of the cardinals said then that the Church will never bless the Country of Mercenaries, even if its soil is overrun by dark creatures.”

“The cardinal simply misspoke, and was punished later,” Riska added.

“I know, which is why I said this doesn’t make sense,” Black Eleven said. “If the news of this gets out, the mercenaries would seal off the Transverse Mountains immediately and contact the Church. Priests from all different nations would swarm here in a few days. The necromancers won’t be able to achieve anything, unless they could create something that could rival the Church in that time.”

“Even if they could create five killer zombies, they still could not rival the Church,” Suzanna said. “Light magic has particularly strong effects on zombies. Even a simple Holy Light could kill hundreds of zombies.”

“Even weak healing magic can be harmful to zombies. One healing magic can significantly weaken a zombie,” Riska said.

“There’s no use talking about that now. The necromancers are up to something, but what are we doing about it? Are we following those zombies?” Black Eleven asked.

Anfey fell silent. Should he follow the zombies and find out what was happening? Or should he return to warn the other mercenaries? Anfey was someone who could control his curiosity, because he knew curiosity could lead danger. Avoiding all possible danger would be the wisest thing to do. In the past, he had always laughed at movie characters for their stupid decisions. Why would they go somewhere they knew to be dangerous?

Now, however, Anfey realized how difficult the decision could be. The zombies were not yet a serious threat to him, and he could always run should the situation become too dangerous. However, if the zombies gained control of the entire Transverse Mountain, the threat would be too great. Christian could defend the tunnels against Shansa Empire’s armies, but not against zombies. Sunlight could not reach the tunnels, and the zombies were difficult to kill.

“If the zombies discover the tunnels under Moramatch, how long could Christian hold against them?” Anfey asked.

“It’s hard to say. If there are fighter zombies, a dozen could corner them.”

“Black Eleven, you are the only one among us who is respected. Go back to White Mountain City and report our findings. Suzanna, Riska, and I will keep tracking these things. I need to know what the necromancers are up to.” Anfey glanced at his three companions and said, “Does anyone have a problem?”

“This is a very dangerous plan,” Black Eleven said grimly.

“There is danger in everything,” Anfey said. “You should began thinking how to convince other mercenaries that there really are zombies here.”

“It’s easy. I’ll collect some of the ants as evidence. It should not be too hard,” Black Eleven said. “Are you sure you want to follow the zombies?”

“If we don’t do anything and something happened to Christian, I would never be able to forgive myself,” Anfey said. He was speaking truthfully. He knew that if Christian was there, he would make the same decision.

“Alright, then,” Black Eleven said after a moment of hesitation.

“Suzanna, what do you say?” Anfey turned to Suzanna and asked.

“I will go wherever you go.”

“Riska?”

“You’re my leader. I will follow your every order,” Riska said.

Anfey sighed. He felt himself changing. Perhaps it was because his companions trusted him no matter what.

At one time, he had only kept everyone around because of Saul. Now, other than his own moral standards, he had developed attachments to all of his companions.

Attachment was a very strange thing. No matter what a man’s occupation was, he could never ignore his attachments.

“Black Eleven, how long will it take for you to get to White Mountain City?”

Black Eleven looked up and glanced around. “It’s about seventy miles from here to Moramatch. We have a communication spot sixty miles east of Moramatch. Give me three days.”

“You have to tell Christian about the zombies when you get back to Moramatch. He needs to prepare the town.”

“Of course. You three have to be careful,” Black Eleven said.

“Don’t worry about us,” Anfey said. “You should depart immediately. Suzanna, Riska, we should press on.”

Chapter 177: Acquaintance

There used to be a humid and rotten smell in the forest when they walked there. The smell had changed now. The rotten smell had changed to something unbearable. Riska was a little weak and had been dry heaving already. Suzanna had her brows twisted and tried to suppress her desire to throw up. Only Anfey seemed not to be affected by that smell.

“Let’s take a break.” Anfey said slowly. He could tell Riska was not able to walk anymore.

Riska heaved a sigh of relief, but hurried to cover his mouth immediately. He released a levitation magic and flew onto the tree. He set up a simple magic boundary and waved Anfey to come up to the tree.

Suzanna did not release any combat power, but to a senior swordswoman, it was not hard to jump into a tree. She followed Anfey and jumped a few times before she landed where Riska was. She took a seat next to him.

“How many zombies exactly? This smell is unbearable.” Riska complained. He was simply complaining, but never had the idea of going back. Of course, he assumed that Anfey wanted to go forward.

“If those necromancers wanted to attack a mercenary group, they should have at least five or six hundred zombies,” Anfey said in a worried tone. “This is only our guess. No one would know how long these necromancers have been in the Hengduan Valley. What if they have attacked a few mercenary groups?”

“Oh, my god,” Riska’s jaw dropped. He thought this would be even more terrifying than Anfey’s original guess.

“Let’s wait here until dawn,” Anfey slowly said. “Night is too dangerous for us.” Anfey had been believing in his instincts. What was ahead of him gave him an unknown pressure. That pressure was very strong. No matter how much they wanted to kill necromancers or help Christian, they had to ensure their own safety first.

“This is the only happy thing I have heard the whole day,” Riska said with a bitter smile.

“Riska, would sunlight affect necromancers if we fight with them in the daylight?” Anfey asked.

“Of course, it would affect them.” Riska nodded. “If they were senior necromancers, they could release Dark Fog, Death Twirling and other magic to change their surroundings to allow themselves to have the maximum combat power.”

“If we were surrounded by Dark Fog, would our combat power be affected as necromancers under sunlight?” Anfey asked.

“You would be affected unless you were a creature living in the dark,” Riska answered.

Anfey turned to Suzanna and asked, “What percentage of combat power do you have if you are surrounded by Dark Fog?”

Suzanna shook her head. “I never fought with necromancers before. I am not sure.”

“I guess we will have to see when it happens,” Anfey sighed. It had not been very successful for them to collect information. He had to think up a plan.

“Anfey, you take some rest first. You have been busy since last night. You have not gotten any rest yet,” Suzanna said quietly.

“You guys take some rest. I am fine.” Anfey smiled.

Suzanna and Riska did not insist. They did not waste their time arguing and went to sleep. Everyone knew Anfey’s ability to stay up late.

The rotten smells were kept outside by the magic dome. Anfey quietly sat there with his legs crossed. Riska found a random tree crown, which was not very good for sleeping, but it was not reasonable to keep looking for a place to rest while countless zombies were in the forest. They had to take what they could. Suzanna and Riska both chose thick branches parallel to the ground. They wrapped clothes they had with them on two branches to create a simple hammock. They could barely sleep on it. Anfey felt it was better to practice than sleep.

Without knowing exactly when it was, his practicing had stalled. The main reason was his practice instructions were very complex. He did not have any experience with it. His ancestors did not even believe in the things he was told in the instructions. He did not have teachers and experience to help himself. Neither did he know what was waiting for him in the future. He would not know whether the effects he gained were good or bad. He did not know anything he should be aware of. He had to stumble through as he learned in this new area.

He knew the instructions well, which only gave him a general direction and provided him steps to follow. He had so many things he did not get, but had no one to ask. Every time after he finished his meditation, he would do a reflection on it. He always thought his practice belonged to another world. He missed his home. He thought no other place could compare to his hometown. No matter what kind of honors and social status he acquired here, Anfey still wanted to go back to his hometown and tell his parents his experiences in front of their tomb.

As time slowly passed, the sound of a bird’s flapping wings suddenly woke Anfey up from the meditation. He slowly opened his eyes and looked toward where the sound was from.

For some reason, bird’s sensibility was a lot better than those carnivores, like magic mice and wild dogs. Magic mice and wild dogs could be driven by their desire for food to attack and eat zombies. Birds would just fly away. Since they had started to track zombies down, Anfey had not seen a birding hovering above them. It only proved that Anfey was right to be concerned.

The bird hovered above the tree and landed on the tree where Anfey and his fellows rested. The bird tucked its wings back and watched Anfey and his companions with head tilted.

Anfey had already closed his eyes as the bird flew down. He leaned against a branch with his legs spread apart. He looked like he was sleeping, but he watched that weird bird through the little slits in his eyes.

Anfey could not name the bird. The bird was all black and looked like a crow, but smaller. The eyes radiated some evil bloody red lights. Anfey sneered inside. If this were a trick played by necromancers, it only proved that those necromancers, who had done so much with bones, did not have high intelligence. The bloody red eyes told Anfey the true nature of the bird. If Anfey had to do this, he definitely would make a bird that looked like a normal bird.

Suddenly, a weird feeling hit Anfey, and then he saw a very fine chain on the bird. The other side of the chain was connected to a faraway place. At the same time, Anfey felt the spirit crystal starting to tremble in his body, although he had no idea what the spirit crystal was for.

The bird chirped in a low pitch. Anfey did not see the bird moving, but a cloud like a pale spirite struggled and screamed inside the bird. Anfey could not help opening his eyes wide because he saw the lowest level of the evil spirit in Evil Abyss.

At this moment, Anfey did not have the happy and excited feeling of seeing someone from where he came from. He had always thought of himself as a human being. He thought he was a traveler or guest in Evil Abyss.

Staring at that bird for a while, Anfey recalled all kinds of memories he kept in the back of his mind. Anfey had recognized that the fine chain was a spirit chain. It was pure spirit magic. He did not need anyone to explain what that was. Instead, he could give others some pointers.

That bird trembled very hard. Maybe it was because the long distance made the power of the spirit chain decrease to the minimum. The Evil Abyss spirit struggled hard to get rid of the chain.

Anfey had a smile again. The person who tried to free the Evil Abyss spirit was not that powerful. He could not even control the lowest level of Evil Abyss spirit. He slowly took out his fingers and pointed in the air. It did not take any magic to attack the spirit. Telepathy and strong will power would just make it work. Anfey had both of them.

That spirit chain started to shake. In order to let the necromancer on the other end of the chain believe that the Evil Abyss spirit had gotten rid of the chain, Anfey only attacked the chain a few times with small amounts of telepathy. That spirit chain finally broke.

The Evil Abyss spirit finally had its freedom back, and then he noticed Anfey right away. That bird suddenly dove down at Anfey like a flying arrow. He even opened his beak as wide as a fist. It was hard to imagine such a small bird could have his mouth open so wide.

The Evil Abyss spirit suddenly paused in the air at the moment he was about to hit Anfey. Anfey’s social status was not very high in Evil Abyss, but he was smart politically. He went to whichever king was stronger. He did not do anything to hurt the kings who did not do so well. He even tried to leave untraceable hints to allow the unlucky kings to know that he would spy in other king’s country, and he was actually working for them. Anfey had received all kinds of rewards from different kings. That bird could not combat the huge difference in social status and power between Anfey and him.

Anfey slowly took back his telepathy. That bird slowly and sluggishly landed next to Anfey. The Evil Abyss spirit looked so obedient that he would just lay on the tree branch without moving at all.

Evil Abyss was a crude and simple place. The social structure only allowed obedience and fighting. Anfey was special over there. He was very social. The Evil Abyss spirit only had two options even it was in a different dimension of the world. They still had to be either obedient or fighting against something.

Anfey went quiet for a while. He waved his hand to release a small fireball. The fireball hit the bird. The evil spirit’s puppet was not useful anymore. The spirit had slowly risen from the burned bird and flew forward at Anfey’s instruction.

That magic surges produced by the little fireball woke Suzanna up. She suddenly opened her eyes. “What happened?”

“Nothing. A bird got in.” Anfey smiled.

Riska rubbed his eyes and sat up to look around. “It’s almost morning.”

“Yes. You guys eat something first. We will continue after the sun comes up,” Anfey said.

“What kind of bird stinks so bad?” Suzanna crinkled her nose.

“Damn it.” Riska saw that burned bird. “This is a puppet created by a necromancer for the deceased spirit.”

Chapter 178: Surges of Death Magic

“It’s alright, I already destroyed it with magic,” Anfey said.

“Necromancers can sense everything through the zombies. You don’t understand, Anfey. We are exposed already,” Riska said, frowning. He pushed himself up and glanced around nervously.

“We’re not exposed.”

“How can you be sure?”

“It’s a long story. Sit and eat something.”

Anfey made himself very clear. Something had happened, and they were not exposed, though he didn’t want to tell them why. Suzanna and Riska trusted him, and both relaxed visibly.

After a quick meal, the three of them meditated to wait for the sunrise. The night breeze had no effect on the rotten smell in the forest, but the sun was the bane of anything dark and unclean. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the rotten scent dispersed.

Riska sighed and looked much more relaxed. “It’s a miracle the smell didn’t kill us,” he said.

“You still lack training,” Anfey said with a smile.

“Still?” Riska repeated with a frown. He felt the things he experienced in the last few days were much more interesting and dangerous than what he was used to. If this wasn’t training, then what was?

“Have you ever been to prison?”

“No.”

“You will see true hell in a prison. The air there is always foul, and the ground covered in feces and urine. You won’t find a single clean space on the ground. You can find at least a dozen lice just by scratching your head. Even rats are rare, because for the inmates a rat is a good meal. No one wants to let the rodent go. People eat the lice as well.” Of course, Anfey wasn’t talking about modern prisons. He was talking about medieval prisons he had only read about in books.

“Really?” Riska asked. He was a commoner, but he was lucky enough to become Saul’s student and was not familiar with terrible things like this.

“You’ll know if you ever find yourself in a prison.”

“How did you know? Have you ever been to a prison?”

“No, but there are a lot of rumors.”

“It can’t be true,” Riska said, shaking his head. “Surely a normal man would go mad in a place like that. If prisons are all like that, no prisoner would survive.”

“You are underestimating how strong a person’s will to live can be. Humans can survive in environments much worse than that.”

“How?”

“Go see for yourself if you don’t believe me,” Anfey said.

“Don’t curse me,” Riska said with a shake of his head. “I don’t ever want to see it for myself.”

“He’s telling the truth, you know,” Suzanna interrupted. Her expression was unreadable. “Riska, you have never seen the prisons the nobility set up. I have seen a man, his body bound by a dozen chains, immersed underwater for years. When they pulled him out, his body was covered by maggots, but he was still alive.”

“Stop, stop!” Riska jumped up and shouted. “Stop it. That is disgusting.”

Suzanna turned and glanced at the sunlight on the forest floor. “Should we get going?” she turned and asked Anfey.

Anfey frowned and cursed Riska for interrupting Suzanna’s story about her past. Now it would be hard to make Suzanna talk again. He stood up slowly and said, “Alright. Let’s get moving.”

The three of them had stopped for the night, but the zombies had not. However, the zombies left an obvious track behind. The thick surges of death magic on the forest floor were a clear indication of the direction of the zombies’ trek.

Anfey and Suzanna were dashing through the forest, while Riska was following in the air. The two on the ground were going so fast that Riska found himself falling behind at times. Riska tried to warn them, but Anfey just smiled and did not say anything.

As the three reached a nameless mountain, Anfey waved his hand to stop Suzanna and Riska. However, he didn’t need to stop them. They already felt strange and were stopping.

From the other side of the mountain, surges of death magic reached them. Normally, surges this strong could be felt hundreds of miles away. Neither Suzanna nor Riska felt anything until they were up close.

“They have a senior necromancer!” Riska exclaimed quietly. Even though his voice could not be heard by people on the other side of the mountain, he still spoke softly. “There has to be a large magic kekkai that hid all the surges.”

“It’s your turn now, Riska,” Anfey said. “The necromancers won’t feel the magic surge of Eyes of the Sky, right?”

“Highly unlikely,” Riska said. He waved his hand and conjured Eyes of the Sky. The mountain appeared as if it was right in front of them, but it was still about a dozen miles away. With the mountain as a coordinate, Riska was able to focus the Eyes of the Sky with only two tries.

Anfey had already prepared himself, but he was still shocked when he saw what was happening on the other side of the mountain. He didn’t know what kind of a kekkai it was, but it was powerful enough to block out even the sunlight. The kekkai was surrounded by white fog, and the entire backside of the mountain was obscured by the fog. Under the fog were thousands of zombies, all packed into the same, small area. If all the zombies were once mercenaries, the necromancers must have attacked more than one mercenary group.

Other than the zombies, there were also a dozen normal looking men in black robes. They were patrolling the zombies. The middle of the kekkai was covered by thick, black smoke, and the Eyes of the Sky could not see what was in the fog.

“I need to rest,” Riska suddenly said. He sounded exhausted.

“What?”

“I don’t know what kekkai that is, but I can’t hold on anymore,” Riska said. He took a breath and relaxed, and the images in the Eyes of the Sky quickly disappeared.

“Even you don’t know what kekkai that is?”

“I know nothing about death magic,” Riska said. “I’ve never fought necromancers, either. Maybe Suzanna knows something.”

“I don’t know anything, either,” Suzanna admitted.

“Riska,” Anfey said after a few moments of silence. “Tell me, what do you think the necromancers want?”

“It could be a lot of things. Maybe they want to take advantage of the zombies’ power and taint this place, turning it into a graveyard even the Priests of Light cannot clean.”

“What good does that do to the necromancers?”

“It will give them advantages we don’t have,” Riska said with a grimace. “Remember how Hagan summoned a behemoth using the creature’s bones. If bones of creatures similar to behemoths end up in the necromancers’ hands, they can summon a bone behemoth. The behemoth Hagan summoned can only last for a few minutes, but a bone behemoth is a dark creature like ghost dragons. It is immortal.”

“Anything else?”

“There is at least one senior necromancer. Maybe they want to create some killer zombies. It’s unlikely though. Killer zombies are difficult to control, even senior necromancers may not be able to control them.”

“Is that it?”

“Maybe they want to collect surges of death magic and create a Death Magic Crystal in preparation for the necromancer’s ascension.”

“Ascension?”

“Necromancers need the taint of a large amount of surges of death magic to advance in rank. As long as there are enough crystals, they can even…”

“Guys, something’s wrong!” Suzanna suddenly called. “Listen.”

Anfey frowned and waved his hand. The three jumped into the trees and held their breath, listening to their surroundings.

There were sounds of branches snapping, but it was faint, and whatever was making the noise must have been far off.

Anfey glanced at Riska, who released the Eyes of the Sky quietly. A team of eight necromancers and twenty zombies walked out of the kekkai and were heading away from them. Zombies were clumsy creatures, and did not know how to avoid obstacles. They could not feel pain, and did not care if they were stabbed by branches and thorns. Those zombies were what Suzanna heard.

“What do they want? To find more mercenaries? Aren’t there enough zombies already?” Riska said, frowning.

“Why don’t they move at night? Zombies are much more powerful at night,” Suzanna murmured.

“They cannot hide themselves during the night. Sunlight can kill zombies, but it can also mask their trail. Their greatest enemy becomes their ally,” Anfey said. “We can’t let them go on with this senseless murder. We’ll follow them.” The threat would be too great if more zombies were created. No matter what, Anfey could not allow the necromancers to continue on with what they were doing.

Chapter 179: Sniper

Anfey and his team did not have to follow those necromancers long this time. The necromancers only travelled twenty miles.They stopped at a grassland with bright sunlight over them. They looked like they were busy doing something, which made Anfey and his team feel uneasy.

Without the magic kekkai, Riska could easily see what was going on on the grassland with the Eyes of Sky. Zombies were buried underground one after another, while the necromancers were searching for something under the sunlight they hated.

“Those zombies look like battle zombies,” Riska said in a low voice.

“It would be great if I knew spells of Light.” Anfey searched in his head for everything he knew about spells of Light. It had been a long time since he had used spells of Light. He did not pay too much attention to it when he first learned it. He had forgotten most of it.

“Without being baptized, no one could perform spells of Light; otherwise everyone could be a priest.” Riska laughed quietly.

“That is asking too much,” Anfey said.

“Churches have the most complicated rules. Only people with a lot of patience can be priests. You must have never seen priests before. I am telling you, a lot of them act like girls, not men,” Riska said.

“That is called humble and polite.” Suzanna was not too happy with Riska’s description of priests. “Are those men who only know how to yell others called men?”

“Hmm, Suzanna, I did not know you were so fond of priests,” Riska said.

“I am not fond of them. They are at least better than rude guys,” Suzanna said.

“Anfey is rude.” Riska grinned. Anfey was more than rude if counting what happened at their professor’s home. He pulled out his sword and killed people without even saying anything.

“Who said Anfey is rude?” Suzanna got even madder. If it had not been for the fact that necromancers were still not far from them and Riska was still in charge of Eyes of Sky, she really wanted to teach Riska a lesson.

“Stop, look at those necromancers. Why are they hiding? Are they ambushing anyone?” Anfey asked.

Suzanna and Riska stopped their argument about Anfey’s personality. They looked at the Eyes of Sky at the same time. No doubt, those necromancers hid one after another.

“What is wrong with them? Who would come here?” Riska asked with a confusing look.

“Look over there!” Anfey pointed with his finger.

A gigantic butterfly flew passed the forest in the distance and flutter in their direction. There were over twenty mages flying behind the butterfly. Anfey and his team heard yelling in the distance, but could not tell what exactly they were yelling about.

The gigantic butterfly’s wings were sky blue with white flowery designs. The butterfly looked holy. He was not moving at a fast speed. He looked like he was hurt, since he wobbled up and down in the air. The most amazing part about the butterfly was he was covered in rainbow lights. The butterfly looked like a butterfly angel to Anfey.

The butterfly flew to the grassland in a very short time and suddenly fell on the ground. He did not even have strength to wave his wings. This told everyone that he was dying.

Those mages in the sky did not land on the grass right away. Instead, they formed a circle in the air, and kept the butterfly in the center from a distance. They slowly landed on the grass.

The yelling sounded like it was getting closer to Anfey and his team. People rushed onto the grassland one after another. The one in the very front had already reached the gigantic butterfly, while others behind him were still running. There were around five or six hundred people, maybe even more.

“Anfey, look, that was the flag of Dragon Rider mercenary group,” Suzanna expressed urgently but quietly.

“You are right.” Anfey saw that flag as well.

“They are with Ozzic,” Riska gloated. “They are not good people. Anfey, are we helping them?”

“Ozzic is not a nice person, but he is a human. We can reason with him, or even threaten him when it is needed, but nothing would work with zombies. Either we die or we kill zombies.” Anfey slowly took out his bow from his Dimensional ring.

Mercenaries had formed a circle at a distance and slowly approached the butterfly in the formation of a circle. Anfey already could not see the butterfly from his angle. Anfey tapped Suzanna and said, “Riska, you stay here to cover us when it’s needed.” Anfey held his right hand out and a wind blade appeared and started to spin around his right hand.

In terms of personal growth, Anfey grew the fastest because he was not only smart, but liked to think and was good at finding solutions for their problems. He had down time as an assassin in the other world. He never stopped thinking since he came to this magic world.

Thinking provided Anfey the opportunity to make progress, while every step forward in turn helped him acquire new experience. He would start a brand new thinking process again from the experiences he gained. If he continued this cycle, his growth would be unbelievably amazing.

Compared with the powerful people in this world, Anfey had the advantage of having magic freestyle. His controlling skills for basic magic were a lot better than regular mages. In Christian’s eyes, wind blades were just wind blades, but Anfey did not think so.

A two-meter long gigantic arrow made by a wind blade appeared in Anfey’s hand. Anfey slowly drew the bowstring back. He used to use real arrows, but not anymore. Anfey had invented a lot of new things with the wind blades after he discovered that wind blades could be used for jumping. He did well in the experiments. This kind of arrow could be shot a lot farther than he could even see with his naked eye, but the accuracy was not guaranteed.

Intense magic surges appeared above the grassland. A sticky fog-like substance sprayed up from the grass and created a gigantic spider web in the air. The gigantic spider web covered the whole grassland. Wrinkled zombies crawled out from underground. They rushed into the crowd where blood had spilled. The necromancers showed up from everywhere as well. A necromancer in front raised his staff high. His mouth was moving. Obviously, he was chanting.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, a sliver of white light appeared in the sky, which was not easily seen. Everywhere the light passed, the leaves turned to powder. The end part of that light carried a gust, blowing the grass and shaking the trees. The stomach of the necromancer in the front suddenly exploded with blood. His head and his chest flew upwards while this legs and hips slowly and sluggishly fell to the ground. His torso totally disappeared. The light hit hard on the ground with the effects of the exploding small magic array of chaos. Gravel and dirt flew everywhere. The dirt splashed on some necromancers and they screamed in pain. Zombies did not seem to feel any pain, while the necromancers still could feel the pain even when they was losing their body.

Ozzic and his people were surrounded by the spider web, which blocked their view to the outside. Almost half of the necromancers were still able to see, but they were not sure what hit their leader’s head. They stood frozen to the ground because of what they had seen.

Anfey already loaded the bow again with a giant arrow made of wind blades. He shoot it out. The white light passed in the air. A necromancer suddenly got shortened. His feet were still on the ground, but his head was gone. The blood flowed out from his neck like a human blood fountain.

Necromancers finally found where the attack was from this time. Two necromancers released bone shields and rushed towards Anfey from the left and right sides. Necromancers were scared by Anfey’s attacking ability. They even had over ten zombies help them. They could not spare any effort to deal with the mercenaries they caught.

“Suzanna, be careful.” Anfey nodded at Suzanna. He waved in the air. Another two-meter long gigantic arrow appeared in his hand.

Suzanna smiled and rushed forward as fast as a meteor. The thick combat power radiated white lights. Whenever there was a battle, Anfey subconsciously had her in the front, but Suzanna never complained about it. Some girls liked to be protected by their men, while others liked to fight alongside their men. Suzanna looked girlish, but she was one of the latter girls.

Anfey did not shoot the arrow out immediately. He did not shoot the arrow until a zombie lined up with a necromancer. What surprised Anfey was the arrow did not pierce through the zombie to hit the necromancer behind the zombie. The arrow only hit the zombie in the air. That zombie could struggled to stand up after rolling on the ground few times. Anfey was not sure what kind of wound the arrow made on the zombie. He only knew that battle power of the zombie was far better than he had estimated.

However, Anfey had endless wind blades. His magic could allow him to continue shooting for a long time. This time Anfey was not greedy. He learned, so he only targeted a necromancer. As the bowstring made a sound, the bone shield released by the necromancer had collapsed already. His body fell on the ground like a broken branch, his upper body folded over the lower body.

Another necromancer noticed that bone shields did not work against the arrows. He immediately realized he was in danger. He turned around and ran for his life.

If the bone shields released by the mages could not protect them from Anfey’s shooting, then archers were a deadly nemesis for mages. The necromancer who had already run pretty far broke into two parts, just as his leader had. Anfey killed them with one simple move by let loose his fingers on the bowstring. There was only a cloud of blood mist left in the air.

Chapter 180: Game

The zombies were powerful warriors who did not know pain or death. They ran towards Suzanna. There was no rank or order to their charge, but facing the stone-like gray skin and the red eyes of the zombies, Suzanna still felt anxious. She danced away from the zombies and tried to pick one of the zombies as her first target.

Suzanna’s sword rippled and lit up, then she slashed at the neck of the zombie. Suzanna struck out at her highest possible speed, because she just saw a zombie taking an arrow. She knew she had to kill the zombie with one blow.

The zombie did not try to block the blow. It held up its sharp, dagger-like fingers, and reached for Suzanna’s chest. The zombie might have been a swordsman once, but its soul had already fallen, and what was left was only a senseless body. The knowledge and the fight skills it had accumulated over the years disappeared as well. The attack was purely instinctual. There were no tricks to it.

Suzanna had the advantage of speed and of attacking first. When the zombie was only a few feet away from her, her sword was already slashing at its neck. Even for the most powerful people in the world, a blow to the neck by a senior swordsmaster would be deadly. Suzanna’s sword sheared through the zombie’s neck, and the head flew backwards. The stench was almost suffocating. However, the zombie’s movement did not stop, and its sharp fingers continued reaching out towards Suzanna.

Suzanna was shocked, but she was experienced in battle, and had fast reflexes. She kicked the zombie in the abdomen, and jumped backwards to avoid the attack. The zombie did not fall until Suzanna was at least twenty feet away.

The zombie that was wounded by Anfey’s arrow had a large hole in its chest, the shrubs behind it were clearly visible through the hole. Because of the wound, its movement was slowed and it lagged behind the other zombies. Suzanna moved out of the main horde’s way and jumped towards the rear of the group. She landed not far from the wounded zombie, who lunged at her, waving its arms frantically. Its own blood spraying onto the ground.

The rotting organs and the foul scent of the zombie’s blood made Suzanna very nauseous. The zombies began to surround her, and Suzanna was forced to jump into a nearby tree.

The zombies swarmed the tree, clawing at it. The trunk became very fragile under the sharp nails of the zombies, and it didn’t take long for them to hollow out the trunk. However, Suzanna jumped onto a nearby branch, and they were not able to realize their hope of killing Suzanna.

A pale light struck one of the zombies as they prepared to follow Suzanna. The light left a wound the size of a small bowl on the zombie, but the zombie did not fall to the ground. Instead, it stood where it was, shaking its head, as if it was trying to wake up from a dream.

It was in a zombie’s nature to hunt. Attacks and its companion’s death did not distract the zombies. They stood under the tree, clawing at its trunk with their nails.

“Their heads!” Riska called as he circled around.

“I know,” Anfey said and notched another arrow.

The zombies had not yet finished clawing at the tree when Anfey attacked them again. The arrow took a zombie’s head off. Dark smoke rose from where the neck broke, and its large head was only hanging on its neck by bits of skin.

The zombie’s arms reached back and grabbed its head, then it slowly placed the head back onto the broken neck. Before Anfey could react, the zombie shook and fell to the ground. Zombies were much stronger than a normal person, but a wound like that would still be fatal.

This attack could not distract the zombies, either. They kept on roaring at Suzanna and clawing at the tree. Suzanna noticed the zombies’ problem as well. She returned her sword to the sheath, and jumped onto another tree. She broke off a branch and waved at the zombies, hoping to attract their attention.

“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Riska frowned and asked.

“Maybe because zombies love beautiful things as well,” Anfey said, grinning.

“Quit joking around,” Riska said and rolled his eyes.

Three other necromancers headed towards Suzanna. Anfey had been waiting for the necromancers. The zombies wouldn’t do much. Before all nearby trees were destroyed, the zombies were only lumberjacks. There were plenty of trees, and Suzanna shouldn’t be in danger.

One of the necromancers waved his hand and released a dark ball of energy. Unlike the magic Anfey had seen a few days ago, the black ball was much larger, and looked as if there was a face in it, surging.

White light appeared and shot through the black ball. The arrows Anfey used were materialized element arrows. Compared to normal weapons, an element arrow was much more powerful against magic. The repelling nature of elements maximized the destruction. The black ball first deflated like a balloon, then it exploded, turning into countless black strings that floated through the air.

The necromancer screamed in agony, his right arm destroyed in the explosion. Another arrow hit the necromancer’s body, and he fell to the ground. For a zombie, wounds like this could not even hinder their movements. For a human, however, it was fatal.

The two other necromancers stared at their companion in shock, then they turned and fled. “It’s elves!” one of them called. Usually, only the elves could use element arrows. It was not surprising that they had come to this conclusion.

Anfey turned to the zombies. Now, it was less of a battle and more of a game. The zombies fell one by one, but the others were distracted by Suzanna, who was throwing branches at them. Their one track mind did not allow them to focus on anything other than the thing right in front of them.

The remaining necromancers disappeared into the bushes, and did not return. Anfey continue to aim his arrows at the zombies. Before he could take out the last zombie, Suzanna jumped down from the tree crown and slashed at the zombie. After a flash of white light, the zombie slumped to the ground with only half of its head.

Suzanna turned and grinned at Anfey, then she began walking towards the magic array in the clearing.

Anfey returned the bow to his dimensional ring. He had thought this would be a difficult battle, and didn’t expect the zombies to be such easy targets. If he had known this, he would have stayed hidden and taken the zombies out. That way the battle would have ended much faster.

“Riska, do you know what kind of magic array that is?”

“No,” Riska said, shaking his head. “I don’t know what it is, but I think it should be easy to destroy. I’ll go check it out.” He levitated into the air and chased passed Suzanna.

The entire clearing was concealed by a magic array, and people on the outside could not see what was going on inside. However, they could see shadows of movements on the inside, and hear the sound of fighting and cursing.

“I thought there were only a dozen zombies left,” Anfey said, frowning. “How did they turn into so many people? Riska, can you destroy it?”

“It’s easy,” Riska said. He pointed to a nearby bush, and nodded at Suzanna.

Suzanna walked over to the bush and struck the bush with her sword. The earth split open and revealed a black stone tablet with strange runes carved onto it. Riska brushed off the soil and looked at the tablet. He nodded at Suzanna again, who pressed her sword against it. With a flash of white light, the tablet shattered into a dozen pieces.

The kekkai over the clearing began shaking, and cracks as fine as spider webs began spreading all over it. “This is it,” Riska said with a relieved sigh. “Creation is hard, but destruction is easy. It seems like the necromancers had been here for a while. Neither the kekkai nor the magic array are things you can set up overnight.”

Anfey frowned and turned to the clearing. The magic array was destroyed, and what was happening inside the kekkai became apparent for those outside of it. When the people saw the blue sky appear above them again, they all sighed with relief. In the middle of the clearing, there was still chaos. Suddenly, a shrill scream ripped through the air, “My god, it’s zombies! Zombies!”