Chapter 334: Dependent

Ozzic did not respond to the question. Instead, he turned and glanced at Anfey. This was a decision he must make since he arrived at Moramatch. However, it wasn’t a hard one considering Anfey’s connections. Anfey once fought alongside Slanbrea and Bruzuryano and helped them defeat the necromancer Annunciata. He was a student of Archmage Saul and was close with people like Baery, Miorich, and Steger. He even had a master swordsman with him.

Ozzic and his men trusted Anfey more as well. They had offended him once before, but Anfey did not hold it against them and saved their lives. This showed that Anfey was a trustworthy person. Ozzic knew that he would not risk his life to save someone who once threatened him. Manlyn, on the other hand, was clearly a selfish person. Nothing good would come from allying with him.

Ozzic had decided who he would ally himself with. He knew that Manlyn could not keep on acting like he was the ruler of the town. This was why he endured the unfair treatment instead of rebelling against Manlyn.

Anfey nodded at Ozzic. Ozzic turned to the mercenaries and bellowed, “Who do you think you are? You aren’t important enough to be giving me orders.”

The mercenaries all stopped in their tracks and stared at Ozzic, surprised. They had never heard Ozzic yell at anyone. The leader of the group of mercenaries glared at Ozzie and turned to Anfey. When a quiet man like Ozzic suddenly become fearless, it meant that he felt protected. “Who are you?” the man asked. “Which mercenary group do you belong to?”

“I’ve seen a lot of fools, but never one as foolish as you,” Ozzic spat. “This is Count Anfey, the real owner of this town. He doesn’t need your permission to come here.”

The mercenaries all murmured to each other. Anfey didn’t want to be too famous, but it wasn’t up to him. He had made a name for himself after he destroyed a griffin aerial squadron and foiled the necromancers’ plan. He was almost as famous as Scarlet from Shansa Empire. Because most people are commoners and Anfey himself was a commoner, most people still preferred to talk about one of their own instead of Scarlet, who was from a royal family.

The mercenary that just asked Anfey who he was took a few steps back. Anfey might be a dangerous person, but he should be smart enough to know that now was not the time to cause a fight between mercenaries. The mercenaries trusted Manlyn, who rarely made mistakes. He did not understand why Anfey was there, but he wasn’t as worried as he would be otherwise.

“Move out of the way,” Ozzic growled.

The mercenaries glanced at Anfey and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Anfey said.

The mercenaries ignored him and kept leaving.

“Christian,” Anfey turned and said, “can you stop them?”

Christian looked around and nodded. “No problem,” he said.

“Suzanna, Blavi, take care of the mages over on the towers.”

“They’re my men, my lord,” Ozzic said hurriedly.

“Good,” Anfey said with a smile. “Easier for us.”

The mercenaries were gathering around, leaving a large, empty spot in the street. Most of the mercenaries around them were Ozzic’s men or mercenaries who were unsatisfied with Manlyn’s way of doing things. Seeing that someone was finally standing up to Manlyn’s people, they were all very excited and wanted to help. Mercenaries lived in danger and did not lack the will to fight. All they needed was someone to stand up for them. Christian whispered a spell and raised his wand into the air. A large magic barrier appeared, covering all the mercenaries.

Last time they left Sacred City, they only brought the most important things with them. Learning magic did not require wands, so none of Saul’s students had one. This time, the mages were armed from head to toe. Christian had the advantage of being a prince and had access to weapons that normally were off limits. Now, this barrier he created could contain not only sound, but also magic and combat power surges.

Anfey jumped up the moment the barrier formed. His right hand was concealed by a turquoise glove, a wedding gift from Bruzuryano. The glove could increase his ability to gather wind element and increase the power of wind blades. Anfey already could gather elements very quickly. With the help of the glove, he was almost as good as Christian. He found his bow in his dimensional ring and made an arrow from wind elements. He then drew the bowstring back and sent the arrow flying towards the mercenaries. He made two more arrows and sent those into the group of mercenaries as well.

The arrows flew at the mercenaries at an incredible speed. The three arrows found three separate targets and disappeared as those mercenaries fell into the ground. He nocked the fourth arrow but did not let it loose. Instead, it was Suzanna who launched into the group of mercenaries. Her sword swept through them, leaving a dozen dead with just one stroke. The difference in power was too great and the mercenaries did not even see her coming. They did not stand a chance.

Ozzic watched in shock. He thought that Anfey would spent some more time preparing instead of straight up slaughtering these men.

Suzanna jumped away from the mercenaries and returned her sword to its sheath. With her sword out of sight, she resumed her guise of gentleness once more. It was hard to imagine that she was the same woman who had just slaughtered a dozen men in cold blood.

Suzanna stood on the other side of the magic barrier and watched the mercenaries inside, with no expression on her face. A few mercenaries were walking around the corner and were shocked by the presence of the barrier.

“Anfey,” Christian called softly.

“Ozzic, can you take care of this?” Anfey asked.

“Yes, my lord,” Ozzic said. He was glad that he made the right choice. If he had chosen to ally himself with Manlyn, surely Anfey and his people would go after him next.

“Are there are other Jagged Rose mercenaries here?”

“No, my lord. They are all in the houses near the center of town.”

“There’s two here!” someone in the crowd called.

The mercenaries around them automatically cleared away, revealing two men on the ground, writhing in pain.

“Ye?” Anfey said quietly.

“Welcome back, my lords,” Ye said, bowing. In a world of chaos, the best thing a man can do was to find a powerful man he could befriend. Anfey was the only option available.

Ozzic frowned. He remembered the two Jagged Rose mercenaries. He thought they had already left. He was angry that Ye stole the spotlight, but he knew that without Ye’s assistance, the two mercenaries could tip off the others, and he was grateful for that.

Most of the mercenaries present were Ozzic’s men, and they all remembered Anfey. The others, however, did not know who Anfey was. They were glad someone was standing up to Manlyn’s men, but did not understand the implications. They did know who Ye was and that Anfey must be an important man.

Chapter 335: Playing

Commander Ozzic did not fool around. His order was short but made sense. The mages on the mage tower had already seen the signal, but they did not do anything about it. Ye stood at the exit of Moramatch with over a dozen of mercenaries. They did not stop anyone coming in, but no one was allowed to get out. The new mercenaries were under Ozzic’s control as well. Motley crews were asked to go back to their tents under Ozzic’s order. Only those loyal to Ozzic were in charge of everything.

When everything was set up, Ozzic walked next to Anfey and said quietly, “Lady Alice is in a meeting now, Master. Manlyn should be there too. Do you want to go over there now?”

Anfey shook his head. “No, I need go to see someone first.”

“Who are you going to see?” Ozzic asked.

“A woman named Shinbella. How is the security at the jail? Can you get us inside?” Anfey said slowly.

“Well…” Ozzic looked like he did not know how to answer the question. “Master, it is pretty hard to take you to the jail. Except for those loyal to Manlyn, no one else can even get close to the jail. Master, can you think of a different plan, or at least we need have a detailed plan.”

Anfey shook his head. “I do not need to think anything up. As long as you can show us where the jail is, I can handle the rest.” He was not worried at all, since he was a lot stronger than his opponent. He went quiet for a while. He did not think about how to handle Manlyn, but with the bow in his hand. He had grown attached to it, like it was part of him. It seemed like the bow had feelings as well. He suddenly remembered the day when he applied extra force to pull the bow and his finger was cut by the bowstring. His blood had soaked into the bowstring. At that time, when Anfey saw Suzanna was caught by Slanbrea, he was too angry and worried that he did not pay attention to the bow. He had not practiced archery since then, so he only noticed the changes now.

“Let’s give it a try,” Ozzic said, scratching his head, “but, Master, you should be ready for the fight, since you might come into conflict with them at any time.”

“Sure,” Anfey said. “Suzanna, can you wear your senior swordswoman badge?” Anfey put on his earl badge as well. Suddenly he looked quite different. He walked with pride. He looked arrogant and frivolous, a total makeover of a wealthy playboy. Anfey’s act should get great reviews. The way he looked and behaved without saying anything totally showed a wealthy playboy.

After passing a street corner ahead of them, they were officially in Moramatch. They saw more mercenaries as they walked further into the city. Those mercenaries stopped when they saw Anfey and his group. Only a few of them looked excited, since they recognized Anfey. Most mercenaries whispered to each other, trying to guess who Anfey was, or they just stopped walking to take a look at Anfey and his group.

“Is the jail behind that fence?” Anfey asked quietly.

“Yes,” Ozzic answered, looking around nervously. They were getting close to the foot of the mountain, which had the highest security under Manlyn’s order. There were a few mercenaries from Jagged Rose mercenary group, but the badges Anfey and Suzanna wore tricked many people. In the Country of Mercenaries, there were not many earls. Mercenaries could have money, powers and fighting ability, but would not be accepted as royalty. There were not many senior swordsmen either. Few senior swordsmen enjoyed fame in the Country of Mercenaries. No one wanted to have conflict with a mysterious and powerful fighter, so they all stepped back into the shadows, even though they had just been walking around like they owned the place.

“Not many guards here.” His unusual vision was very convenient for Anfey. Ozzic was only able to see as far as the fence, while Anfey already knew how many people were patrolling inside the fence.

“I do not know. I have never been here before,” Ozzic said.

As they talked, they had approached the fence. There was a crack in the wooden door in the front. Three mercenaries walked out. They acted like they did not see Ozzic. They all laid their eyes on Anfey. They sensed something different about Anfey. Mercenaries travelled a lot and were pretty knowledgeable. They saw many people like Anfey in big cities. They could only stay away from them, trying not to have any conflict with them, otherwise they would find themselves in trouble.

“Master, this is a restricted place. You…” a guard said.

Anfey looked beyond those mercenaries, and looked absentmindedly up at the sky. He hooked his finger to signal Suzanna to come over. Suzanna acted like the most obedient maid, walking one step forward and tossing a handful of gold coins at the guards. Anfey said sluggishly, “This is your reward. You are welcome. Open the door and let us in.”

The guards stared, wide-eyed, not at gold coins, but at Suzanna. They had seen senior swordsmen. Their two commanders were influential top powers, but they had never seen them ordering a senor swordswomen like a maid. They had seen nothing like this.

“Master, without the permission from Master Manlyn, no outsider is allowed in,” a mercenary said politely.

“Oh?” Anfey finally laid his eyes on those mercenaries. He looked glassy-eyed. “Which outsider are you talking about? Manlyn’s order? Do you think I have to follow that Manlyn’s order here?”

“That Manlyn” definitely did not sound nice. The mercenaries became angry, but dared not show it on their faces. If a person could treat his own senior swordswoman as a maid, he might be able to look down upon their commanders. They looked at each other and then at Ozzic, hoping to find some answer from him. Unfortunately, Ozzic had already moved to the side and bowed respectfully. They could not even see his face.

“Master, we cannot go against Master Manlyn’s orders.” The mercenaries felt terrified, but they had to follow orders. They still blocked the entrance with their bodies.

“Let’s put it this way. I am the brother of Alice. Right now Alice has agreed to marry that Manlyn. I would not interfere with Alice in her decision, but I have to make sure Alice is going to have a good life. Do you understand?”

The mercenaries looked at each other. They looked excited and happy. “You are the brother of Alice, but…” Their commander definitely had good eyes. They did not know Lady Alice had such a powerful family background, which also meant they could rely on them and not worry about that Anfey come back and cause trouble.

“What don’t you understand?” Anfey asked impatiently. “I have to make sure that my sister is going to have a good life so I have to take care of any potential threats. I heard Manlyn used to have a good relationship with Shinbella. If Alice agreed to this marriage, then how could I allow Shinbella to continue living?”

There were about eight mercenaries on the other side of the fence. Anfey played them hard. At first, they were shocked when they saw Anfey, a powerful person, suddenly came here. Later they felt excited when they realized Anfey was one of them. They were startled when Anfey said he wanted to kill Shinbella. Their commander was cruel. He only put Shinbella in jail, but Anfey wanted to kill her. They wondered if all powers were like this—never thinking others’ lives were important, not even their beautiful and powerful vice commander, Shinbella.

The mercenaries were so disturbed and confused that they lost their ability to think. They muttered, but could not come up with a word.

“Master, we…” One mercenary finally said something, but he looked like he was about to cry.

“Ok, ok. I do not want to give you a hard time. I am going in.” Anfey waved his hand. The mercenaries felt so relieved, but before they could thank Anfey, he said, “You guys go in now. Cut off Shinbella’s head for me. I will leave after that.”

They were again startled by what Anfey said. The grateful look they had displayed suddenly froze on their faces. This was too much to take! They wondered what kind of person Anfey was and why he changed his mind so fast and in such a unpredictable way. They could not cut off Shinbella’s head. Commander Manlyn would tear them into pieces.

“You cannot do this either?” Anfey’s face changed. He looked cold and ready to kill people. He said, threateningly, “Is it because Manlyn wants to protect Shinbella? It has to be like that. I did not want to interfere with Alice’s decision, but I am changing my mind now. To be frank, I did not want Alice to marry a mercenary anyway. Manlyn does not deserve my sister.”

“Master, it is not like that,” a mercenary yelled bitterly. If this bigshot really wanted to change his mind and stop the marriage of Alice and their commander, the commander would tear them to pieces as well. No matter what, it did not look like they would survive their punishment.

“Let’s go.” Anfey coldly glanced at that mercenary. He did not want to negotiate any more. “Ozzic, take me to Alice and that stupid Manlyn. How could he say sweet things to Alice but protect his ex at the same time. He is not allowed to stay here anymore. Hmm… Do you think you can handle Manlyn?” Anfey looked at Ernest.

Ernest was shocked for a second before he said with a smile, “Master, I am a top power. Manlyn is nothing more than an ant. I will take care of him.”

Ernest grabbed his sword shaft, a gust of combat power flashing like a string of liquid.

Seeing a top power among Anfey’s subordinates, the mercenaries froze. As they saw Anfey turning around to walk away, one of the mercenaries who had some sense left made a decision fast. If it was not okay to interfere with the commander’s wedding, or kill Shinbella. They only had one option left: to allow the earl to kill Shinbella himself. They would only be punished for a misdemeanor if they allowed Anfey in. After their commander married Alice, it would be unknown whether they would get punished for that. It would be better than going against Anfey.

The mercenary pushed the wood door open firmly and yelled, “Master, hold on, hold on…”

Chapter 336: Hatred

Anfey stopped and turned around, frowning. “My lord,” Ozzic said hurriedly. “They didn’t do it on purpose. No one wanted to disobey Lord Manlyn.”

“Yes, yes,” the other mercenary nodded in agreement. He glanced at Ozzic and mouthed a thank you.

A dozen other mercenaries appeared at the door. There were four mages and a magister among them. They were hiding in the dark, but the mercenary had been very loud when he was talking to Anfey, and they heard the entire conversation. They didn’t want to interfere. Even if Manlyn and Anfey got into a fight, it was still their personal problem. The mercenaries didn’t want to offend either side in this conflict.

“My lord, Shinbella’s cell is on the first floor. I’ll take you there,” the magister said with a pleasant smile.

“Good,” Anfey said with a relaxed voice.

Anfey followed the mercenaries out of the prison. The heavy gate shut behind them. The mercenaries gathering around were still curious about what was going on and began discussing these strangers. They were too far away and couldn’t hear the conversation. Some thought Anfey was another mercenary, and others thought he was an associate of the Church. The mercenaries didn’t know why Priests would be interested in the prison, but they didn’t care.

Shinbella had fallen from grace, but she was still the former deputy leader of a mercenary group and had not been tortured. Her cell was much cleaner than the others. She was tied to a pillar and was chained. Shinbella did not lift her head to look at Anfey.

Anfey looked at the chains. The chains didn’t look like anything special, but the inside was lined with sharp spikes. The spikes were buried in Shinbella’s ankles.

“What are these?”

“Those are biting cuffs, my lord,” the magister said. “She is a senior swordsmaster, my lord. We can’t let her escape. These cuffs can control her. If she wants to use combat power, the cuffs will contract. Even a senior swordsmaster can’t do anything if she loses her limbs.”

“She has it on her hands as well?” Anfey asked. The magister nodded.

“It’s our responsibility to take care of her,” the magister said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Interesting,” Anfey said. He reached towards the cuffs.

“Don’t touch it!” the magister hurried to stop him.

“Why?”

The magister sighed at his own imprudence. They were about to execute Shinbella anyway, and it did not matter if she died in that cell. “The cuffs are very sensitive, my lord,” he said. “They may activate.”

“I didn’t know Manlyn could make stuff like this. Tell me make a few for me too.”

“This is made by the goblins and the dwarves,” the magister said hesitantly, “by the order of Lady Alice. Lord Manlyn was surprised as well when he first saw it.”

“Alice? Where did she learn this?” Anfey asked, frowning.

The magister licked his lips. The first time he saw this device, he was terrified by it. He heard that Alice was unsatisfied with it and wanted to improve it. She wanted the goblins and dwarves to remake it so it could be activated by magic surges as well. He had never imagined a woman as beautiful as Alice could be that cruel.

“I know you’re awake,” Anfey said.

Shinbella looked up and stared at Anfey with her brown eyes.

Anfey frowned when he saw dozens of small holes on her neck, pierced by the spikes on the inside of the cuffs. She had to lift her head slowly so she wouldn’t activate the cuffs and open the wounds.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“What are you?” Shinbella asked.

“This is Lady Alice’s brother,” the magister said. “Lady Alice had agreed to marry Manlyn.” The magister clearly felt bad for Shinbella and wanted her to die knowing what had happened.

“I see,” Shinbella said. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“You don’t have anything to say?” Anfey asked gently.

“I want to live,” Shinbella whispered.

“That’s too much to ask,” Anfey said. He touched the cuff softly. He wanted to test how sensitive the cuffs could be.

“Is it now?” Shinbella asked, smiling. She opened her eyes and stared at Anfey. “Take my hands and my feet, I don’t care. Let me go and I owe you. What can I do without my hands and feet? I pose no threat to you.”

“That’s quite a price to pay,” Anfey said. “You’re strong.”

“I want to see Manlyn die,” Shinbella said. She spat on the ground. Betrayal leaves deep wounds, especially when the one who betrayed her was the man she thought she could trust with her life.

“Manlyn won’t die,” Anfey said. “I will protect him if he marries my sister.” The mercenaries in the room all relaxed when he said that. Anfey agreed to protect Manlyn, which meant that he would protect the mercenaries working for Manlyn. Jagged Rose mercenary group may be one of the best, but they had lost a lot of men in the recent battle.

“Really?” Shinbella asked, unconvinced. “Alice will marry Manlyn?”

“Of course,” Anfey said.

“Alice may be charming and gentle, but we are both women, and I can tell what she thinks of him. No woman would marry a man they regard with disdain.”

“I don’t like Manlyn either and I don’t approve of her choice,” Anfey said. “But I can’t tell her how to feel. Maybe something about Manlyn convinced Alice that he’s a good man. Like sincerity.”

The mercenaries in the room murmured to each other. After Manlyn arrived at Moramatch, he instantly fell in love with Alice and began to pursue her. He would take care of things Alice didn’t like and arrest anyone Alice didn’t like. He attacked the creatures of death because of Alice said she wanted the necromancers to see how powerful their opponent was on a whim, causing death of another two hundred mercenaries. He was clearly very sincere.

“Sincerity?” Shinbella repeated. “Fine, sincere. I’m willing to trade my hands and my feet for a chance to live. Is that not sincerity? If you let me live, I will do anything to repay you.”

“Anything?” Anfey frowned and drew his hand back. He pulled Shinbella’s hair back and stared into her eyes. “Anything?”

“Yes, anything.”

Anfey took a few steps back and took a deep breath.

“I’ll talk to Alice about it,” Anfey said. He turned to the magister and said, “Stay here and keep an eye on her. Make sure no harm comes to her. Wait for me to come back.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“You don’t have a lot of guards here,” Anfey said as he left the room. “Are you not worried about break-ins?”

“No, my lord. No one is allowed here except for you and Lord Manlyn. This place is under constant surveillance.”

“Eye of the Sky?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Good,” Anfey said. He turned to Suzanna and waved his hand. “Come, let’s go find Alice.”

Chapter 337: Insult? Be Grateful!

There were over a dozen of mercenary group commanders gathering in a big room in the center of Moramatch. They were discussing something. Facing the threat of death spirits, they had to develop specific rules, procedures and plans for possible battles. For example, they needed to figure out who would be organizing all the mercenaries and giving out instructions. It definitely would not work if they still wanted to fight as a mercenary group when they were in danger, because they were not just facing death spirits, but also a terrifying army.

The most important issue was to organize all the mages in different mercenary groups into a powerful mage group, so they could powerful attack, provide support, and advance. Most commanders realized it was necessary to make changes, otherwise Moramatch would not hold out another few days. In the conflict between their personal interests and national interests, they were not so sure what to do. The leader of the mage group would definitely not be any of them. Manlyn would take that role, but those commanders were not willing to give up their interests.

Very few people in history had been able to give up their own benefits for the national interest, so similar meetings had been held many times, but nothing was achieved. Manlyn had been aggressive at the conference, but he had to hold his temper and force himself to put up with something he did not want to do on these sensitive issues, otherwise he could have a riot.

Alice sat back on the main chair. She played with a little knife with an almost unnoticeable smile. Sometimes she looked like she was smirking, but when they took a closer look, there was no smirk on her face. When they turned away, they could sense those smirks coming back to Alice’s face. This uncertainty made Alice even more mysterious. These mercenary group commanders were cautious with Alice, since they were newbies in Moramatch and had no idea how much power Alice had.

At the conference, Alice rarely gave her opinions. Maybe because of her attitude, the commanders were able to drag out the meeting. Unfortunately, Alice seemed like she only cared about showing off her sweetness and beauty, to the point where she appeared to show zero interest in the meeting, even when Moramatch was in serious danger.

A guy was walking around the round table, giving a passionate speech, but it was not Manlyn. Manlyn knew he could not push it too hard. When Moramatch was in danger again, it would be the best time to discuss who could lead the mage group. He was tired of wasting time at the conference, so he had only sent his assistant here.

Manlyn had previously said everything he wanted to say. The new vice commander of Jagged Roses mercenary group, Nibison, turned and looked helplessly at Alice. He wished to get some help from Alice, but he also knew Alice would not give him any help. After the first conference with the commanders in other mercenary groups to call for a change, Manlyn had asked for Alice’s help. Alice only casually told him that it would be too disappointing if he was not even able to handle a conference. After that, Master Manlyn never asked Lady Alice again for help. He would rather get to where he wanted slower instead of having Lady Alice look down upon him.

It was getting dark. A gnome walked in and lit up the candles on both sides of the room. The gnome must have felt that it was not bright enough. He pulled the gadget on the wall. The magic Ever-Lasting light on the roof lit up. A warm white light rid the room of its gloomy feeling.

Alice’s face became rigid for a second but turned to look sweet again, like nothing had happened. Only the most observant people could notice the tips of her fingers turning pale as she gripped the knife tighter.

Alice had an amazing memory. To better control Moramatch, she had made a series of complicated codes. She liked to leave the signals at the most obvious places. Giving looks, clearing her throat, whispering, passing pieces of paper were too simple and could cause trouble. The codes Alice created allowed everyone to see, but they would have no idea that she was sending coded messages. They would not be able to find anything wrong with what they saw. Even when she took a walk in Moramatch, a gnome or dwarf quickly walking by could pass her enough information. Alice was far from knowing about everything that happened in the world, but she indeed could know everything in Moramatch.

The magic Ever-Lasting light was a signal light. The one big light in the center with eight lights on the sides all meant something different when it was lit up. Some meant a new mercenary group came to Moramatch, some meant there was a conflict in the town, and some meant Alice needed to do something in person. This time, the big light in the center of the room was lit up. It had never been lit up since it was installed.

“What are you hesitating for?” Nibison yelled. “Are you guys going to wake up only after seeing blood?” He could not help yelling at them. These guys had been quiet for too long. They were so annoying. Next time death spirits attacked Moramatch, he would not mind feeding them to the death spirits.

Suddenly, there was someone yelling, “Who are you? You…” Suddenly they could not hear that person’s voice anymore.

The door was pushed open. Anfey walked in with Suzanna next to him. A group of people slowly walked in. The smile on Alice’s face got even bigger and more beautiful. She stood up elegantly, lifting her dress with her hands and bowing to Anfey. She looked like the humblest maid meeting her the most admirable master.

The commander of Warflame Mercenary group, Orsie, the commander of Wuming Mercenary group, Tiger, and Elizabeth were all shocked for a moment before they all stood up and bowed to Anfey. This sent the commanders of other mercenary groups into chaos. They stood up and greeted Anfey as well.

It was hard to have a person standing alone to show any leadership. The red roses needed the green leaves as background. Rainbows needed the blue sky as background. With enough followers, a stupid person could receive a lot of respect, even though it could be an illusion. However, Anfey did get it.

At that moment, Anfey not only received attention in the conference room, but also respect from Alice, Orsie, Tiger and other influential commanders of mercenary groups. Anfey looked powerful. His poker face made him look very sophisticated. Whether or not they knew Anfey, they all looked at him.

Anfey walked around the round table, as Alice had motioned to him to take her seat. Anfey smiled and slowly sat down. “Everyone, please take a seat.”

“Thank you, master.”

“Thank you, master.”

The first thank you was from Orsie, Tiger and Elizabeth together, while the rest of the commanders followed them and said the second thank you. Going along with the crowd should not be criticized, because that was a move of self-protection. It was usually safe to be on the side of the majority.

“Alice, you have done a lot,” Anfey said calmly. It was not easy to understand what he really meant from his opening speech.

“Thank you for your compliment. It was my honor.” Alice had a really sweet smile on her face. She looked even more beautiful.

“We will talk later.” Anfey laid his eyes on Nibison, who had stayed still for a while. “Is he Manlyn?”

“Master Manlyn is still in his room, resting. This is the vice commander of Jagged Roses mercenary group, Master Nibison,” Alice said.

Nibison’s head was spinning. He thought this unexpected guest should be Anfey, but it could not be Anfey. With the information they had, Anfey did not know Orsie and other mercenary group commanders well. Even if the commander of No. 1 mercenary group, Anthony, came, he would not cause such a scene. Who the hell was this guy? The only thing that made him feel relieved was that Lady Alice was still polite to them. Maybe things were not as bad as he thought.

“Are you Nibison? Please take a seat.” Anfey pointed at a chair.

“You are…” Nibison said slowly. He sounded polite.

“My name is Anfey,” Anfey answered directly.

Nibison’s face became rigid for a second. He started to look very aggressive, even fierce. He took a deep breath. “Master, we are in a meeting now. I hope you could wait outside for a while. That way you would not disturb our meeting.”

Nibison knew his excuses were ridiculous, but he had no other excuses to press on Anfey. This was exactly what he did not want to see happen. He did not get why Orsie and others showed so much respect to Anfey. He had been assistant to Manlyn for a while and was very experienced in this kind of occasions. He knew he could not look weak in front of Anfey, otherwise he would not have any control of Anfey later on.

“Alice, do I have the right to be in this meeting?” Anfey smiled.

“You are the real master of Moramatch. You can be anywhere you want, even in my bedroom,” Alice said respectfully.

“Did you hear that?” Anfey casted a sidelong glance at Nibison.

“Lady Alice, can you give me an explanation?” Nibison had fire in his eyes. He stared at Alice with anger. Anfey’s appearance did not hit him that hard, but Alice’s attitude did. What Commander Manlyn did was nothing to her. She was a liar.

“You are very funny. If Alice has to explain, she is explaining to me. Who do you think you are?” Anfey looked mad.

“Master, are you insulting me now?” Nibison fearlessly moved one step forward as he stared at Anfey. He heard Anfey was just a paladin and did not have much fighting power. If something bad happened, he was pretty sure he could beat Anfey. However, he forgot one thing, that is, the source of his information.

“If I only want to insult you, you should be grateful. Unfortunately…” Anfey showed his intention to kill him already.

Chapter 338: Dashed

Everyone could feel the tension between Anfey and Nibison. Nibison swallowed and did not move. He wanted to strike first to establish himself as a force that could not be ignored. If he could overpower Anfey, he would be in control of the situation.

Nibison raised his sword, but before he could do anything, a bright flash of sword radiance struck his sword and shattered it. Nibison was only three paces away from Anfey, but Ernest was more than ten paces away. He managed to shatter Nibison’s sword with just one strike.

Nibison froze, ignoring the pain flaring from his wrist. Not only Nibison, but the other mercenaries were shocked as well. Nibison wasn’t very powerful, but he was still an intermediate swordsmaster. Only a master swordsman could instantly disable an intermediate swordsmaster like Nibison. How did someone like Anfey make a master swordsman work for him?

Nibison growled and lunged at Anfey.

Ernest returned his sword to its sheath. He knew Anfey well and wasn’t worried. If Nibison had a sword, Anfey would not be able to defeat him. However, Nibison was no match for Anfey when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

Anfey stood there, waiting for Nibison. He seems relaxed and did not raise his arm to defend himself. Nibison lunged, grabbing Anfey’s shoulders. As Nibison tightened his grips, Anfey stepped forward. The two were close enough that Nibison’s line of vision was blocked. Nibison stared at Anfey’s face, trying to decide what his next move would be.

Anfey looked at Nibison, then lifted his right knee and slammed it into Nibison’s jaw. The strike broke through Nibison’s combat power. Nibison gasped. His head was thrown back, his jawbone shattered. His eyes widened and his body curled up in pain.

As Nibison fell to the ground, Anfey lifted his leg and kicked the man again in the stomach.

Nibison flew backwards and crashed into the ground. He struggled to get up, spitting out blood and broken teeth.

Anfey jumped over, grabbed Nibison’s head, and slammed it into a table nearby. As Nibison’s body slammed into the table, the large, wooden structure broke with a loud crash. Blood splattered onto the nearby mercenaries. Nibison lay on the broken table, his body twitching a few times, then became still.

The mercenaries narrowed their eyes and stared at Anfey. They did not like him, but they did like their lives and were not planning on dying today.

Anfey took a few steps back and glanced at the mercenaries, trying to read their expression. He wiped a few drops of blood off of his face and clicked his tongue. He had no problem with killing, but he did not like the feeling of blood on him.

Alice found a small handkerchief and handed it to him. Anfey accepted it with a smile and wiped the blood from his hands. “Orsie, Tiger, are your men ready for battle?”

“Of course, my lord,” Orsie said, pushing himself up from his chair.

“We’ve been waiting for this day,” Tiger agreed.

“Good,” Anfey said. “I’ll be waiting.”

Orsie, Tiger, and Elizabeth all nodded to him and walked out of the room. Anfey glanced at the other mercenaries and frowned. “Are you just going to sit here?”

“Of course not,” one of the mercenaries said, getting up.

The other mercenaries quickly followed suit. Within a few seconds, all the mercenaries were on their feet and clamoring.

“Good,” Anfey said. “You’re eager to work. Don’t let me down.”

The mercenaries streamed out of the room, eager to get away.

After all the mercenaries were gone, the focus of the room turned to Alice. She was wearing a white gown, clearly overdressed for a meeting with mercenaries.

“Do we need people following them?” Anfey asked.

“No,” Alice said with a shrug. “No one likes Manlyn, I promise you that.” Alice smiled. She was acting very natural, as if the entire room’s attention was not on her.

“Of course,” Anfey said. “I trust your judgement.”

Alice narrowed her eyes and glanced at Anfey, then she sighed and turned away. A few moments later, a large man in armor walked into the meeting room.

Anfey took a deep breath but did not say anything. He already knew that Kumaraghosha must have become an ally of Alice’s. They were both from Shansa Empire, and both had been betrayed by it. They had too much in common for them not to become friends. If Kumaraghosha did not serve Alice, he would not serve anyone else.

Kumaraghosha saw Anfey and frowned. Alice reached over and tugged at his shirt. Kumaraghosha sighed. “My lord,” he said with a small nod.

“Are you not surprised?” Anfey asked.

Kumaraghosha shrugged. He wasn’t a bootlicker. Trying to ingratiate himself with Anfey would be going against his personality and his values. He had ability to lead but was not good at currying favor. If he was good at it, he at least would be a general by now, not abandoned and betrayed by his own nation.

He didn’t want to say anything and didn’t need to. After he left Shansa Empire, he headed straight to Moramatch. He wanted closure and knew he would get it there. After he met Alice, however, he realized that he had been wrong.

So what if he died at Moramatch? It wouldn’t make those who condemned him feel guilty. It wouldn’t bring punishment to Mintel. It wouldn’t clear his name. It would only make those who betrayed him glad that he would never be able to speak the truth.

If no one was willing to listen to his story, he would use his sword to show his enemies that they were wrong in condemning him. Revenge would be so sweet. If he manage to kill all those that had wronged him, he would be at peace. If he failed, he would die. But he did not care about death anymore.

It was Alice who talked some sense into Kumaraghosha. She managed to show him that now was not the time for revenge. He pledged himself to Alice, which led to him saluting Anfey. But he would not serve Anfey unless it was Alice’s command.

Anfey looked at the man for a few moments, then turned his eyes away. “Ozzic,” he said. “Take your people to the prison. If they won’t let you in, force your way in.”

“My lord, Shinbella…”

“I trust that she is smart enough to realize who am I once she gets the news of revolts in the city,” Anfey said. “She won’t work against us.”

“I’m asking what I should do if the guards use Shinbella as leverage,” Ozzic said. He could tell that Anfey was interested in Shinbella and did not want anything to happen to her before he could talk to her.

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Anfey said. “Shinbella is the deputy leader of their mercenary group and is a senior swordsmaster. I doubt they would do anything to threaten her life.”

“But what if?” Ozzic asked.

“Then I guess it was not meant to be,” Anfey said.

Ozzic nodded. He stood and quickly left the room with his men.

“Alice,” Anfey said. “Take me to Manlyn. I need to talk to him.”

“Kumaraghosha can do that for you.”

“No,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “I need to go meet him myself.”

Chapter 339: Fate

Mercenaries had their own fighting styles. They cooperated, but loosely. They had a main fighting force, but the formation of the army not strictly set. Generally speaking, there was only very rough coordination of their fighting styles. It was just because of this rough structure that they were able to react fast to situations. When there was someone calling for help, the rest of mercenaries would join the fight immediately. It was easy for them to figure out who the enemies were.

When Ozzic took some of his guys to the jail, the town was already in chaos. People were yelling and screaming everywhere. Ozzic was a bit worried and sped to the jail. He found the jail door locked, and the guards had disappeared.

Since they had openly offended Manlyn, the fence could not stop them. Ozzic and his men pushed down the fence in the blink of an eye. After they rushed into the jail, they saw the jail guards had retreated to an empty cell in fighting formation. There was a vanguard in the very front of the group.

The cuffs on Shinbela’s neck and ankles were taken off, showing her bruised skin. A gigantic sword, glowing cold light, was stuck in the ground in front of Shinbela. That sword seemed to be the weapon Shinbela had been using. Shinbela did not have any emotion showing on her face. She slowly moved her hands and feet and rotated her ankles. She was a senior swordswoman, but her muscles had become rigid after being tied up for a long time. It would take her some time to get herself back to normal.

Seeing this, Ozzic could not help feeling worried. He had taken only 30 people with him to the jail. They would be able to handle those guards and take control of the jail. However, with Shinbela there, in addition to taking control of the jail, they would be lucky if they could walk out of the jail safely. Ozzic was only an intermediate swordsman. Ye did not come, since he had been given another assignment. The big difference in fighting ability between Ozzic and Shinbella could not be made up with more people on Ozzic’s side.

Shinbella suddenly laid her eyes on Ozzic. She was quiet for a second before she said coldly, “Are you ready?”

Ozzic moved one step back and pulled his sword out backhanded. He pointed at Shinbela from a distance, as he was still nervously planning how to fight with her.

“Then let’s start,” Shinbela murmured before Ozzic could respond. A glowing combat power radiated from her. She pulled the gigantic sword out from the ground backhanded. It felt like the whole jail was under strong pressure.

A mage behind Ozzic was so nervous that he shot out a wind blade at Shinbella. Shinbella did not seem to see it. She just raised her sword, turned around, and rushed towards the group of jail guards with a yell. Her yell was so loud and wild that she sounded that she had gone crazy. She simply let the wind blade shoot her in the back. A small wind blade could not cause any damage to Shinbella’s combat power. The wind blade rapidly turned into moving elements.

The group of jail guards looked terrified. They never thought Shinbella would want to kill them. Before they could even react to her attack, Shinbela had broken their formation. The blood splattered. Like Shinbela, Suzanna was a senior swordswoman. Suzanna was fast, swift, and flexible, but Shinbella was more about power. She used less strategy but more power. Her sword skills looked even more masculine than Ernest’s. With the extra-long, heavy gigantic sword and intense combat power, Shinbella had turned herself into a killing machine. Every time when she swung her sword, she killed a few jail guards.

A junior magister across from Shinbella shot out two big fireballs in a row at her. If it were Suzanna, she would not have let the fireballs hit her, but Shinbella swung at the fireballs and shattered them with a loud yell. This might be because she had built up so much hatred, almost to the point that she was almost crazy. Fireballs were explosive: after being shattered by the combat power, their explosion intensified. They looked like the fire flames a mage could shoot. Shinbella was covered with fire. The fire had a radius of about eight yards. It swallowed both Shinbella and that junior magister.

Ozzic’s cheeks twitched. He wanted to help Shinbela, but was scared away by her roaring. He decided to wait and see what happened. It proved wise; otherwise he and his subordinates would have been swallowed by the fire as well.

The fire sea finally disappeared. Unlike Shinbela, everyone of the jail guards was on the ground. The junior magister was laying against the corner of the walls. His head was vertically cut in half and both parts fell sideways. The cut was deep down to the jaw. The elastic of the muscle allowed the two halves of the head to shake slightly. The head looked like red, white, and yellow paint was dripping down the jaw.

Seeing this sight, Ozzic wanted to throw up. He barely could talk, “Are you ok?”

Shinbella gave Ozzic a cold look and did not respond. She swung her sword again forcefully and broke a hole on the back wall of the cell. She jumped through the hole.

“This woman is crazy,” Ozzic sighed as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Mercenaries were not politicians, but they knew how to maximize their benefits. No matter whether they worked for Anfey previously or just now showed their loyalty to him, they all acted in the same way; that is, they sent their capable assistants to lead a large group of people to kill the mercenaries from Jagged Roses mercenary group while they took a few of their loyal forces to attack Manlyn. They knew whoever could kill Manlyn would receive the biggest rewards.

When Anfey reached Manlyn’s house, the fight was at its peak. More than 20 intermediate swordsmen surrounded Manlyn. Elizabeth and few other good mages hid in the distance, constantly releasing Delaying and Gravity magic spells and other effective spells. Previously, it would not have been a problem for Manlyn to fight a few intermediate swordsmen. Now there were too many attacking him and, in addition, the mages were trying to affect his fighting ability. Manlyn was in a very disadvantageous situation. He was wounded all over his muscular body. One of his legs was hurt and he could not move well.

As Anfey quietly watched all this, he took out his bow from the dimensional ring. He put the wind intensified glove on his right hand. It was inevitable to have some conflict among mercenaries. Anfey did not want to see major casualties, since he needed these mercenaries to fight against the death spirits.

Manlyn was a very experienced warrior. He had already sensed Anfey pulling his bow as soon as it happened. He looked beyond the crowd at Anfey, like a fierce lion.

“Hurry up, kill him,” Alice yelled worriedly.

Anfey was shocked for a second. He should have let the arrow fly at Manlyn. However, he had his suspicions about Alice. Her nervousness had made him think twice whether Alice might have been leading some conspiracy against Manlyn, so Alice wanted Manlyn die quickly.

Alice was shocked when she saw Anfey putting his bow down. Her face turned pale and she looked away.

“Anfey, do you dare to take my challenge?” Manly asked in a thunderous yell.

“Stupid.” Anfey had a smirk on his face. He never did anything on impulse. He definitely had control of the situation. Why would he want to fight Manlyn one on one. Anfey wanted to see whether Alice had done anything that meant he should keep Manly alive. Anfey was about to give orders, but realized the situation was getting bad. The intermediate swordsmen all unwillingly stepped back. Manlyn stopped his attacking and proudly stood there with his sword.

What had happened? Anfey could not believe what he saw. He did not pay attention to the customs of Country of Mercenaries. Powerful people could receive high honors, even powerful opponents. It was reasonable to have a fight to see which one was more powerful. No one would think it was inappropriate. Of course, the challenges could be turned down.

Suzanna put her hand on the sword handle and moved one step forward. Anfey held his hand out and stopped Suzanna. He saw the expectations in the other mercenaries’ eyes. He thought for a second and realized what he could gain and lose in this situation. No one else could fight for Anfey, otherwise Anfey would have a bad reputation.

“Anfey?” Suzanna looked worried.

“I am alright.” Anfey smiled and strode towards Manlyn. In fact, he knew this fight was not fair. Manlyn was like a trapped beast. He was not even scared of paying with his life, since he knew he was doomed. Anfey was not as committed to the fight as Manlyn, but this fight was inevitable.

After walking two steps forward, Anfey suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Alice. Alice refused to look at him. She watched them distantly.

“What are you hesitating for?” Manlyn yelled again. He looked so excited that his face was twisted. After being attacked by a group of mercenaries and finding out Alice had betrayed him, he had already felt desperate. He did not think he would get this last chance. It would be a good ending to be able to die together with Anfey.

“Thank God, you are still alive!” Another more excited and sharp voice rose. A person in covered in blood stepped into the center of the battle. She ignored everyone, but laid her eyes on Manlyn. “Come on, Manlyn, like a real man. Let’s fight.”

“Shinbella…” After seeing Shinbella, Manlyn looked like he was going to lose control. His face was twitching, and his eyes were filled with panic, regret and much sadness.

“I have been disappointed in you for the past few days, Manlyn. I hope you can leave me with one last good impression.” Shinbella slowly raised her sword, smirking.

Manlyn moved one step back. He avoided Shinbella’s look of hatred. He looked at Alice, and suddenly yelled, “Alice, tell me, why, why?”

Alice looked at Manlyn with disdain, then at other mercenaries in the field, and finally laid her eyes on Anfey. She turned around and walked away. She did not even care to givie Manlyn an answer. In fact, her answer was clear. Manlyn did not deserve her, or deserve her answer.

Chapter 340: Truth

The fight between Manlyn and Shinbella ended quickly. Even though Shinbella had been imprisoned for weeks and was very weak, she was fueled by rage and hatred. Manlyn could face Anfey in a fight, but he couldn’t face Shinbella because of his guilt. A few minutes after the fight began, he was struck by Shinbella’s great sword.

Maybe out of guilt, Manlyn did not resist. If he had, he might have been able to defeat Shinbella. Shinbella’s tactic was powerful, but easy to block. Manlyn, however, did not take advantage of her mistakes. Before he died, he stared at her with sorrow in his eyes.

After Manlyn’s death, the quarrel in Moramatch calmed down. Except for a few remaining rebels, most of the mercenaries chose to surrender. For most mercenaries, there was no conflict that could not be solved. They saw what had happened and there was no need to resist.

Anfey became the de facto leader. He had experience governing a hundred people, but there were at least a thousand mercenaries gathered in Moramatch. Taking care of the mess Manlyn left was exhausting. Even though Christian and Blavi were there to assist him, it took almost an entire day take care of everything.

Ozzic told him that Alice had not not busied herself with taking care of the town, but nevertheless the town was running smoothly. Even Manlyn’s arrival had not effected it much. Ozzic’s words reminded Anfey that he needed to speak to Alice. When he had first met Manlyn, Alice asked him to kill Manlyn for her. Anfey was doubtful then. If it had been another person, perhaps he could lie to her, but he knew that Alice would see through his lie. Anfey was still uncertain about what position he should give Alice. He needed to talk to her to decide whether he was going to trust her or take her power away.

Ozzic led Anfey to Alice’s house. He spotted only two guards in the yard. They looked like formally trained soldiers. Anfey thought they must be Kumaraghosha’s men. The guards saw Anfey and did not stop him.

Anfey hesitated for a moment then knocked on the door. He waved his hand at Ozzic, who bowed and quickly left.

“Come in,” Alice said.

Anfey pushed open the door and walked into the room. Alice’s room had simple furnishing. There were a table, a bed, a bookshelf with a few books, and two chairs. Anfey closed the door behind him carefully. He was surprised by the simplicity of Alice’s room.

“I’m not surprised that you came,” Alice said softly. She should have gotten up and greet him as a hostess, but she kept lying on her bed and did not move. Her tone was cordial, but lacked the respect she held for him before.

“You knew I was coming?” Anfey asked, sitting down on one of the chairs.

Alice nodded slowly.

“You had to think about that question before answering?”

“A lot of trouble can been avoided if we think before we talk.”

“From what I’ve gathered, you’re not one to shy away from trouble.”

Alice shrugged. “Some troubles are necessary,” she said.

Anfey sat back in his chair and stared at her. “Alice,” he said after a few moments of silence, “I know you and you know me. We aren’t impulsive people. We don’t have to act like this.”

“I don’t understand you.”

“You do and I know you do,” Anfey said. “What are you trying to show? That you’re childish and impulsive? Or are you telling me that I should feel guilty for not believing you?”

Alice narrowed her eyes but did not say anything.

“I think we need to talk, don’t you? Or else we won’t understand each other. We can even turn on each other. Who knows? Tell me honestly. Why did you announce that I’m gathering an army?”

“Don’t you think this is a precious opportunity?” Alice asked quietly. “Necromancers are threatening the entire world, but the four major mercenary groups turned their backs on their people. Our offer is practically a beacon in the darkness for these people. Normally, you can have ten towns like Moramatch, and you’re still not the best.”

“I don’t care who’s best,” Anfey said. “You know why those mercenary groups refused to help. You know why you don’t have the resources to support all these mercenaries.”

“I know.”

“Then how do you propose we solve this? Where are you going to get food?” Anfey asked. “How many mercenaries are in this country? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? What will you do if all of them come here? The necromancers don’t even need to attack us. All they need to do is surround us and we will all be dead in a week.”

Alice looked at him, amused. “I admit you are a smart man,” she said with a grin, “but clearly you are severely lacking in certain areas.”

Anfey sighed. He was worried because he knew exactly how cunning and brilliant Alice was. “Don’t interrupt me,” he said. “Tell me, how are you going to solve this?”

“You are overestimating yourself,” Alice said with a shrug. “Don’t forget, you aren’t the best. You aren’t even close. You’re second-rate, at best. How many mercenaries did you think our announcement would attract? Did you really think even the four super mercenary groups will come?”

“Watch your tone,” Anfey said coldly.

Alice chuckled and shook her head. “There are only four super mercenary groups, but there are more than fifty first-rate mercenary groups. The only one willing to come here is Jagged Rose. All the others here are second-rate at best.”

“It is still more trouble than we can handle. What are you going to do about refugees?”

“We aren’t taking useless people,” Alice said. “We have our examiner right outside our walls, don’t we?”

“What do you mean?”

“The necromancers have control of Transverse Mountains and are pushing their way into the country. A battle with the necromancers is inevitable if someone wants to reach Moramatch. The mercenaries that arrived here are the survivors. They are experienced and ready to fight. Refugees won’t make it this far.” Alice paused and smiled. “We are increasing strength without lifting a finger. Tell me, am I wrong?”

Anfey felt a sudden chill looking at Alice’s smile. He could picture groups of hopeful mercenaries and refugees being slaughtered by zombies and necromancers. He did not know what kind of a person Alice was before, but her experience in the Country of Mercenaries clearly changed her. But Anfey must admit that only people like Alice could survive in a time such as this.

“I counted. There are about two thousand mercenaries here. How are you feeding them?”

“I never do things I am not prepared for.”

Anfey nodded and stared at Alice, who stared back at him. After a few tense moments, Anfey sighed and said, “We’ll talk about this later. I want to talk about Manlyn. He’s not someone who would fall for a trap that easily. What did you do to make him trust you so much?”

“He knew who I was.”

“What?”

“He had visited Shansa Empire before.”

“You two knew each other?”

“He knows of me,” Alice corrected him. “I have no memories of him.”

Anfey nodded. A princess would never waste her time with the leader of a mercenary group. “And then?”

Alice licked her lips and said calmly, “He kept trying to insert himself in my group of confidants. He respected me, even more so than Ozzic and the others. I gave him some power to keep him interested.”

“Didn’t you realize how ambitious he was?”

“Do you take me for a fool?” Alice asked with a smile. “Manlyn was ambitious, but he was not a good actor. We all knew what he wanted.” Alice sighed and continued, “He wanted power. He wanted me. Of course, I could use that to my advantage.”

“Don’t forget that I gave you Moramatch,” Anfey said.

“I thought you would understand,” Alice said softly. “It seems like you still do not understand my plan.”

“I’m waiting for an explanation,” Anfey said. He was good at reading people, but Alice was a politician and she knew how to conceal her emotions. He needed to speak to her honestly so he could understand her.