Chapter 441: Metamorphosis

Anfey slowly walked into the forest. Every step he took was slow and took a lot of energy, but he kept his body straight, without hunching. His lips were pressed tightly together and he looked like he was trying to stop moaning. Will power was like a dam to a river. Once there was a crack, the dam would be destroyed. If Anfey made any moves to vent his pain, he would be crushed by the pain.

After deciding which tree he would go to, Anfey pulled his sword out to cut away two bushes as he was grinded his teeth. He slowly crawled into the hole of the tree. He blocked the entrance with bushes and then took a seat with his legs crossed. He organized his Dimensional ring. He was no longer concerned only about himself. If he were in any danger, Suzanna, Christian and others still would need continue their lives. If he could not show up after the battle, Suzanna probably would come here to look for him. She would be able to find his stuff.

Anfey did not care about the magic books and gold coins, since the tree hole was too small to hold too many things. He did not care about his Fire series magic crystals too much either. If he left the magic crystals in the tree hole, the magic surges from them would attract people passing by. He needed to pick something that would be helpful for Suzanna and others but hard for others to discover.

Anfey laid a bow, a magic sword and other items in the tree hole. He held a bottle of Sacred Spirit potion. Anfey had wanted to give it to the little unicorn, but Saul suggested that he hold on to it until the little unicorn reached adulthood. At that moment, the potion seemed to be the only thing that could keep him alive.

Anfey held out his other hand, testing to see if he could gather water elements on his palm. He quickly found water elements did not help relieve his pain at all. Besides the burning pain, he could feel nothing else. However, Anfey still could keep absolutely cool. He had known the water element would not help. If Forbidden Spells were so easy to be removed, archmages would not be so powerful. He thought it was worth giving it a try.

Anfey slowly closed his eyes. He activated the internal force in his body as he released his telepathy. Anfey thought he had to understand where the injury was if he wanted to remove the effects of the Forbidden Spells. He knew he did not have much time left. The burning pain got more intense. Countless minor cracks appeared on his skin. Anfey believed these cracks would get bigger and bigger. Nothing would help him if the cracks got deep into his muscle.

After a while, Anfey helplessly opened his eyes. He wasted so much time trying to figure out where the injury was, but got nothing. The only thing he found was he felt better when he performed maximum telepathy. Releasing his telepathy to the max would help with pain but could not remove the Forbidden Spells, and it would consume his telepathy.

Anfey slowly picked up the Shattered Will of God of War. After hesitating for a while, Anfey finally started the Anti-magic Terra. The Shattered Will of God of War could only start Anti-magic Terra three times a year. At that moment, Anfey could care less. A barely visible light screen spread out, covering Anfey and the bottom of the tree hole. The light looked weak but seemed to be able to penetrate anything. It could pass through trunks and pour the light out of the tree hole onto the ground. Anfey had not made a sound. He suffered pain that most people could not bear, but now he could not help moaning a bit. The burning pain was gone. The burning pain really disappeared. Instead, he felt heavenly joy and relaxation.

In this corner, where no one could see him, Anfey did not have to hide anything. He looked anxious, quietly waiting for something. He was like a criminal waiting for his sentence by the judge.

After a while, the light screen was gone. Anfey’s face immediately twisted in pain. The Shattered Will of God of War fell out of his hand. Nothing could compare. The honey would taste heavenly sweet after having one bite of berberine. However, the berberine would become too bitter to bear after having a bite of honey. Anfey once again felt the burning pain, which seemed more intense than before.

Michael’s judgement was right. Anfey had neither combat power nor strong magic power. The effect of the burning magic could reach to its maximum. If it were Suzanna, she would only have cracks on her skin when she exhausted her combat power. Anfey felt he could not take this burning pain anymore.

If it were someone else other than Anfey, that person would have lost his mind with this unbearable and intense pain. Anfey gasped. He could barely keep from screaming. He closed his eyes and forced himself into Samadhi stage. Anfey adjusted his breathing as he crazily released his telepathy. He tried to buy himself some time as he tried to lash the mind crystal inside his body. Anfey did not know if he would be able to take the power released by mind crystal once it exploded, but right now he had no other options but to take the risk and try it.

The moon and stars disappeared from the sky. The sun rose. Time passed by. There were many visible cracks on Anfey’s skin. Different sized blood beads hung on Anfey’s forehead and face like gems. His gown had blood spots too. Anfey could clearly feel the mind crystal getting brighter and brighter.

It was not an illusion. Although the sun was bright, sunlight could not get into the tree hole, since the entrance was blocked by the brushes. It was supposed to be dark in the tree hole, but it looked brighter in the tree hole than outside. The light was from Anfey.

Unfortunately, Anfey did not seem to have enough time. More blood came out from the cracks and ran down his skull, forehead and face, slowly dying his gown red. Because of the way he sat, his knees and bottom had already turned completely red.

Some top powers who got hit by burning magic could have countered the damage caused by burning magic, but they could not bear the pain for a long period of time. They lost their minds and killed themselves in the end. Anfey had been bearing the pain that was the maximum effect of the burning magic with his iron will. He was still conscious, but his body seemed to be crushed. It was pathetic to think that he still had consciousness but body was about to die.

Anfey noticed the bleeding increase. Anfey had to put all his eggs in one basket now. He stopped doing everything except releasing the mind crystal with all the energy he had. He stopped trying to control his internal force, paying no attention to the wounds on his body.

Suddenly, a cloud of milky white light exploded in his head. The Light Seed which had been subconsciously suppressed by Anfey suddenly took advantage of the timing now that Anfey wanted to give up everything, and took root in him.

Light elements represented glory, purification, healing and warding off evil. Many people hated the church people who always thought they were better than others and claimed they were all nice and valued justice over everything. However, it was undeniable that the properties of light elements could help regular priests earn respect from others. To be more specific, people hated the priests who expressed strong political and religious views.

To dive deeper, the properties of the light elements also made what the church had done seem unbearable. People could see clearly what was written on a piece of white paper if something was drawn on it. But what would happen if it was drawn on black paper? The idea could be applied to the church as well. There were too many bad guys among the royalty. Many kings were too cruel and wasted too much time womanizing. People would not be surprised at whatever they did. People in the church could not be like them, because the church represented the light. Church people had to behave themselves. In fact, there was little difference between church people and royals. Both groups were bad, and both groups were good. Unfortunately, in real life, except for the areas with a high density of church followers, the church had been blamed for misdeeds more than the royalty.

Anfey seemed to sense danger coming. The milky white light cloud started to spread and wrap around Anfey.

The Light Seed was one type of baptism that any priest could release. However, what Slanbrea planted in Anfey was not a regular Light Seed. It was a blessed Light Seed, which could only be released by an archpriest. The archpriest needed to prey for months before he could release a blessed Light Seed. Slanbrea had been busy since he became an archpriest. He only released a blessed Light Seed three times. Anfey got the last blessed Light Seed from Slanbrea. Back then Slanbrea had not thought of anything else. The drama they had at the end was because Anfey had made such great progress.

With the nurturing of light elements, Anfey could see his wounds healing, but the power of burning magic did not disappear. The wounds broke and healed, broke and healed, broke and healed repeatedly.

This hellish experience would be unforgettable for anyone because it was so painful. Without incredible willpower, Anfey would have screamed.

After a while, the milky white light cloud started to dim. Anfey had never practiced any Light series magic because his own magic power was pretty weak. Without the power of the blessed Light Seed, he would not be able to hold out very long.

Anfey suddenly opened his eyes. He poured the Sacred Spirit potion into his mouth without giving it a second thought. He sensed that the Light Seed that he had been rejecting had become the key to his survival.

The Sacred Spirit potion functioned as the most effective and strongest aphrodisiac. After a very short period of time, the milky white light cloud suddenly expanded and radiated crystal-like bright light. The light cloud wrapped around Anfey again. The Heart of Nature which had bonded with Anfey started to pump with force and absorbed the pain with super fast speed. The slight coolness relieved some of his pain. After being attacked by the burning magic, this was the first time Anfey had felt a bit of relief.

As time went by, sun had done its job for the day and set. Suddenly there was a loud explosion. The explosion did not have shape, waves or sound, but it affected the area with a radius of dozens of miles. All the people, birds and animals did not know what had happened, but all felt their minds crash.

Maybe the Sacred Spirit potion was the key, or maybe non-stop trying over the past dozen hours had worked. The mind crystal inside Anfey’s body finally disappeared. The wounds on Anfey continued the cycle of breaking and healing, but he looked relaxed because he had a total new feeling. In other words, he gained new knowledge.

Anfey clearly saw every piece of broken crystal melting and sensed the strong telepathy embedded in them. No matter how many pieces of broken crystal were there, he seemed to be able to break himself into many selves to track every piece of broken crystal. He did not miss a single one. When each piece of broken crystal melted, Anfey thought he had absorbed as much as mind power as he could, but his body seemed to be a black hole that could absorb as long as the crystals kept melting.

The explosion had happened in the blink of an eye, but it seemed to be thousands of years long for Anfey.

He could see the huge change in his sensing ability inside and outside his body. It was not about how much clearer or more detailed he could sense. No matter where he focused his telepathy, that area became the center of the world. If he wanted to focus on two places, then there would be two centers for the world. If he wanted to see a thousand places, there would be a thousand of centers in the world. Millions of pictures flashed in Anfey’s head at the same time, but they seemed to be all in order.

His body seemed to become so big that he could absorb everything, but seemed to be as small as a cell at the same time.

He had not been able to do anything with burning Forbidden Spells before, but now it was no secret to Anfey. Countless fire elements appeared rapidly, burned, and disappeared quickly. Because of the fast speed of the fire elements, he had not figured out how he was hurt.

The pumping of the Heart of Nature started to slow down, but every beat was strong. The natural air for dozens of miles rushed in waves and nurtured Anfey’s dry body. The healing effects of Heart of Nature overcome the damage of the fire elements. The wounds on Anfey started to heal.

Anfey used to have all kinds of forces in his body, but today he finally entered the stage of Inner Alchemy, which only existed in legend as “traveler”. With the influence of the environment, all the forces completely belonged to Anfey now. He did not have to suppress any of them. If he wanted to use any force, he could let that force grow. If he did not want any force, he could let that force completely disappear.

Without knowing how much time had passed, in White Mountain City about 40 miles away, along the city wall, Christian waved his arms while Suzanna swung her sword. Anfey seemed to be able to sense all of these. He suddenly opened his eyes and moved his body. Dark red blood scabs in different sizes started to fall off like rain drops. Seeing these laid in front of him, Anfey smiled.

Chapter 442: Attacks

To a normal person, a top level power was practically a god. Sometimes, a top level power didn’t even need to do anything. All they needed to do was stand there, and that alone was enough to command the situation.

As a top level power, Michael was very confident in his abilities. He wasn’t worried that thousands of mercenaries were heading towards White Mountain City. The only person he was worried about was Suzanna.

He could see how calm and collected Suzanna was. He was surprised by this, because he originally planned on using Suzanna’s grief and desire to revenge her lover against her. But he wasn’t worried either.

Suzanna’s emotion only influenced his plan, but another person’s presence completely disrupted it.

Michael knew about Entos and what he was capable of. Whenever other mages spoke of esteemed young mages, Entos’s name always came up. However, before this, Michael had never taken Entos seriously.

Entos’s presence annoyed Michael and made him very angry.

Because he needed to defend the city against zombies and necromancers, Michael had already let up a large magic array in the city. He used this magic array and set up his soldiers outside of the city. He was hoping to take out the mages first then deal with the mercenaries.

But so far, all they were doing was hide within the magic array and watching the enemy mages attack. The array was wasting a lot of magic crystals, but Michael knew that it was a necessary sacrifice.

Entos was not directing the mages’ attack. He was circling White Mountain City in the air, holding a longsword in one hand and a dagger in the other.

Michael had three senior swordsmasters with him. One of the three was injured, thanks to Entos. A few minutes ago, Entos had appeared in White Mountain City, screaming and waving his weapons. The three swordsmasters had tried to stop him, but he teleported out of their way and hit one of the swordsmasters in the head with his sword. Before the swordsmasters could do anything else, he teleported away again.

The swordsmaster had summoned his combat power, and Entos was not the best at attacking magic, which was why the swordsmaster had only suffered minor injuries. However, this incident made Michael very fearful of Entos. An enemy that could use teleportation spells consecutively meant an enemy that would be very hard to take out. If Entos appeared in front of him while he was casting a spell, Michael did not know what he would do.

Michael did not lack protective relics and spells, but he was still fearful of Entos’s abilities. Mages preferred to stay away from their enemies and attack from behind a line of protection. Anthony and his mercenaries were not helping, and out of the eight swordsmasters he had started with, only three remained.

Forbidden spells weren’t children’s toys. If a forbidden spell was interrupted, the consequences could be fatal. If Michael tried to use a forbidden spell, Entos would try to stop him.

As long as Entos was alive, Michael knew he couldn’t do anything. The enemy mages had their own magic shields, and his mages could not penetrate so many shields at the same time. The only spell that could cause massive damage was a forbidden spell, but he could not use one at that moment.

Entos appeared above the city wall and waved his sword at Michael and the swordsmasters.

When Entos was younger, he had practiced attacking spells like all the other mages. However, Saul once told him that surviving was winning. He originally said it to prompt Entos to practice teleportation and levitation spells more so he could protect himself and escape dangerous situations.

However, Entos was a very extreme person. He gave up practicing attacking spells and focused solely on teleportation. He spent more than a decade practicing the same spell because of a few words Saul once told him.

Entos waving his sword was a signal to his friends it was time to attack. Seeing the signal, Christian turned to Blavi and said, “Tell the mages to start attacking.”

Blavi nodded and hurried off to give orders to his mages.

“Zubin, send the signal to Suzanna. It’s time for her to attack,” Christian said. “We need to stall as long as possible to make time for Anfey.”

“Entos just circled the city,” Zubin said. “He said he didn’t see him.”

“He must be hiding,” Christian said. “I trust him.”

Suddenly, a dark spot in the sky caught everyone’s attention. The mages hurriedly summoned a few Eyes of the Sky and saw Anfey streaking through the air towards the city.

Christian’s eyes widened. “Didn’t Suzanna say he’s going to take out Michael?”

Michael had spotted Anfey as well. He saw the flying figure and all the material elements that surrounded him. “This is impossible,” he whispered, his eyes wide. He couldn’t see Anfey clearly, but he knew that he was coming.

Christian and the mercenaries were just as shocked as Michael and the swordsmasters by Anfey’s sudden appearance. Anthony laid his cup down and sat up, staring at the figure. Entos smirked and began flying towards Michael. He could tell what Anfey’s intentions were, and he wanted to aid him.

By now, Suzanna had become a top level power and was not as affected by Anfey as the others, but she was still staring blankly at him as he landed and dashed across the field towards the city.

Michael raised his wand. He hadn’t engaged Anfey yet, but Anfey’s appearance had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. He didn’t want Anfey to get too close to him, which was why he had just used a spell to lengthen the duration of his spells and enlarge the area his spells covered. Even though it meant that his strength would be greatly reduced, it was worth a try.

A wall of earth appeared before Anfey. On the other side of wall, a pool of bubbling lava appeared. Anfey crashed into the wall and disappeared into the lava. Before Michael could celebrate, Anfey appeared again, running on top of the lava.

Michael watched with wide eyes. He waved his wand, creating a few firebirds and sending them towards Anfey.

Anfey waved his arms a few times, slapping the birds away as if they were just small bugs. Michael pursed his lips and summoned a fire dragon. Entos was still circling around him, and Michael didn’t want to use a spell that would take too long.

Anthony narrowed his eyes. He turned to one of his mercenaries and whispered, “Quick, take Shinon up there.” He was very impressed by how Anfey combined strength and technique. Like Michael, he was very much in shock.

Michael spat, trying to calm himself, but he found that to be very difficult. The pressure he’d been feeling grew stronger and stronger as Anfey approached. He wanted to use a forbidden spell because that was the only thing that could stop Anfey, but with Entos around, he could not risk releasing a forbidden spell.

As Anfey drew even closer to the city, the mercenaries and soldiers who stood between Michael and Anfey sudden broke ranks. They scrambled to get out of the way and ran towards the city in fear for their lives.

Michael clenched his fists. He returned his wand to his dimensional ring and retrieved two magic scrolls. He did not know how Anfey had become this powerful in such a short time, but he knew that he must not hold anything back.

Anfey dashed towards him and threw a shiny object at Michael. He saw the magic scrolls Michael was holding and felt the magic surges from it. He saw Shinon and Anthony on the city wall as well. He needed to be in control of everything.

The shiny object hit the magic shield Michael had set up and burst into light. The magic shield disappeared and the object hit Michael’s chest. Even though the magic shield had absorbed most of the object’s force, the impact still caused great pain. Then Michael discovered, to his great despair, that he could no longer feel the magic surges of the scrolls and he could no longer summon magic shields.

Anfey jumped towards Michael and swung his fist, punching the man in the chest. This punch threw Michael tumbling through the air. His levitation spell disappeared and he crashed to the ground. When the dust dissipated, he did not move.

Anfey reached out and grabbed the magic scrolls Michael was holding, then he caught a shard of the Shattered Will of God of War.

“That’s him, sir!” Shinon called excitedly to Anthony.

Anthony watched in silence, then waved his arms at his mercenaries. “Don’t leave anyone alive,” he ordered. He had made a choice because he had to make a choice.

Chapter 443: The Influence of Power

The gigantic magic array in White Mountain City had quietly stopped working. Groups of Glory mercenaries were either at the city gate or rushing to the city walls to block run-away soldiers from Ellisen Empire.

The battlefield seemed to move in slow motion. The soldiers from Ellisen Empire had lost their general and had no orders. In addition, Glory mercenary group had betrayed them, stabbing them in the back. It gave soldiers from Ellisen Empire no hope. They saw no point in continuing this fight. Glory mercenaries were anxious and did not know what to do either. They planned to attack the League of Mercenaries, but Anthony suddenly ordered them to attack the soldiers from Ellisen Empire. They were a little confused about who their targets were. Some mercenaries who saw how Michael died were so excited and shocked that they kept replaying that scene and telling others about it. The main story they told was just that Michael had been killed in the blink of an eye. The story made these mercenaries lose more courage.

The scene around the city gate was strange. Two parties fought with swords and knives, but few were killed. That was because the party who tried to rush out of the city was not aggressive enough, while at the same time the attackers were experiencing low morale. The battlefield seemed lifeless.

Anthony was shocked when Anfey laid eyes on him. Anfey’s look was so strong that Anthony felt an unknown pressure rushing towards him like waves. As a master swordsman, Anthony had his own principle. He was not afraid of challenges and would not run away from them, even when he knew he was no match for his opponent.

Anthony put his hand on the sword shaft, slightly pushed it backwards, then pulled his hand off. If it had been the following day, he would have loved to fight Anfey, because it would become just a practice between him and Anfey. He wanted to know his weakness. Losing was the most effective way to find out where his weaknesses were without any doubt. However, he could not at that moment fight Anfey or have any form of confrontation with him.

Entos released instant teleportation magic to carefully approach Anfey. He cleared his throat, but did not know how to start the conversation.

Anfey turned around to look at Entos. Anfey still looked sharp and aggressive, but the smile on his face looked playful and proud.

The playful and proud smile make Entos get close to Anfey again. He looked more comfortable and smiled. “Anfey, what happened to you?” Entos knew it was not his position to ask this question, but he could not help asking. He sounded very hesitant.

“I accidentally learned a force that my teacher taught me when I was little.” Anfey knew what Entos wanted to ask him.

“Accidentally?” Entos opened his eyes wide open.

“Yes.” Anfey smiled. He looked very casual, like nothing had happened. The element currents around him quickly had disappeared. In a brief time, Anfey became a regular person. His aggression was gone.

“Ok, let’s not talk about it now.” Entos looked at Anfey’s hand and asked, “What is that?”

“A Space series magic scroll and a Fire series magic scroll.” Anfey passed them to Entos.

“Is it a Dimensional Door?” Entos opened the Space series magic scroll first and could not help yelling, “How could it be? On the whole Pan Continent, only our professor could make a Dimensional Door.”

“It must have been made a long time ago,” Anfey said.

“It is a treasure!” Entos exclaimed to show how great the magic scroll was. He suddenly opened his eyes wide when he opened the fire series magic scroll. He stared at the magic scroll for a while before he said very slowly, “Volcanic Group Eruption!”

In fact, no matter which series, the process of making magic scrolls was the same. It needed the same series magic crystal and the same series senior magic beast’s skin. The mage would release telepathy repeatedly to carve the spells on the magic beast’s skin. The series of magic scroll would begin to take shape. The fire series magic scroll in Entos’s hand had five bright red magic crystals, all supreme magic crystals, in the center of the scroll. The dimensional door magic scroll only had one space series magic crystal.

“Volcanic Group Eruption?” Anfey was shocked.

“Don’t you know about it?” Entos asked.

“I did not know. I only sensed very very strong magic surges from this scroll, even more terrifying than the surges when Michael released forbidden spells. That was why I changed my mind at the end.” Anfey asked Entos, “Didn’t you feel the intense surges?” Anfey planned to fight hard with Michael. The Shattered Will of God of War could only be started three times a year, and he had already wasted one. He did not want to waste more than was necessary, but the scroll in Michael’s hand forced him to finish the fight in the shortest period of time.

“When magic surges were beyond the limit, I could not tell what magic it was,” Entos said bitterly, shaking his head. “Michael was crazy, without any doubt. Anfey, you did well.”

“Is the Volcanic Group Eruption that horrific?” Anfey asked.

“There are two types of forbidden magic. One is regular forbidden magic, and the other is forbidden forbidden magic, which means it is not allowed on Pan Continent. The power of Volcanic Group Eruption was way stronger than a Meteor Shower. If Michael did release that scroll, people for hundreds of miles around would have all died. White Mountain City would have been destroyed. The boiling lava would have swallowed everything. I would not have been able to escape, and neither would Suzanna. No one could escape from it. But you might have been able to escape, since you are so good to the point I really do not know what you can do,” Entos said slowly.

The mercenaries in the League of Mercenaries had flooded in. The showy Ozzic rushed in front, while Suzanna, who who has been at the forefront on the battlefield, had forgotten about the battle already. Christian and others ran towards Anfey as well.

“Bro Entos, couldn’t you escape with your instant teleportation magic?” Anfey asked.

“No,” Entos said confidently. “Forbidden magic usually has very horrific physical effects besides element effects. Even if I could have escaped from the lava, I would have been smothered to death by the volcanic ash.”

“What would have happened if Newyoheim released Volcanic Group Eruption when our professor led his troops to surround Dark Moon Magic legion?” Anfey suddenly asked.

“Well…” Entos was shocked. He did not understand why Anfey had thought of something that had happened so long ago. In fact, Anfey did not understand why he thought of it himself. Maybe it was because, after being so close to death, Anfey got sharper and his imagination got better.

“What?” Anfey took a sincere look at Entos.

“I do not know. Back then it took our professor few months to build a very large Magic-Block array. It should largely reduce the power of Volcanic Group Eruption, but no one would know what would have happened.” Entos shook his head. “The Volcanic Group Eruption scroll is different than your Vacuum Confinement Scroll. The Volcanic Group Eruption scroll cannot be made by any current archmages. It is a relic from our ancestors.”

“How did Newyoheim compare with Michael?” Anfey asked.

“Newyoheim was the Palace Archmage in Ellisen Empire. His reputation was way better than Michael’s. Michael did not do anything splendid in his time. It does not seem right to compare the two,” Entos said.

“When Newyoheim lost to our professor, he did not seem to have any threatening reaction,” Anfey said casually, “but reputation is not always reliable.”

“No, it is not about reputation,” Entos said slowly. “I have said that forbidden magic could not be released because the power of forbidden magic was too strong. Even the top powers could not counter it. We rarely find any relics from our ancestors, but there are some. If everyone attacked each other with forbidden magic, it would be a disaster.”

“I see,” Anfey said.

“That was why I said Michael was way below Newyoheim. At least Newyoheim knew to follow the rules,” Entos said. “Besides, Newyoheim knew it would be hard to change anything with forbidden magic if he lost the battle without forbidden magic. Do you think our professor only has one Vacuum Confinement Scroll?”

“Anfey!” Suzanna’s beautiful voice shouted out. Her smile consumed her cheeks, eyebrows, and mouth. She looked like a blooming flower. She looked proud of Anfey. It was often best not to know everything. If Suzanna had seen Anfey’s horrific experience and knew Anfey could have died from it, she would have cried so hard and probably would still be crying.

Christian and Blavi led some mages over to Anfey as well. Christian and Blavi were happy to see Anfey, even though they were shocked that Anfey had become so powerful that he could kill Archmage Michael with one strike. They felt like they were still brothers. They believed no matter how powerful Anfey became, he would still treat them as his brothers. The mages looked very nervous. Besides admiration, nothing could be seen on their faces. The power of Anfey seemed to dominate everything, because this was a world where everyone respected power.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Anfey smiled and gently held Suzanna’s hand. He rarely showed any intimacy in public because he thought Suzanna did not like it. It was different now. They had not seen each other for a while and missed each other, especially when it seemed that Anfey might have died.

“Anfey, hurry up. This world will be stunned, stunned by you,” Christian said eagerly.

Blavi, Riska, Zubin and others all nodded vigorously in agreement. They were so excited that even talkative Blavi did not how to put his thoughts into words. It took him a while to say it. “Anfey, you will get so rich! Don’t forget to buy me dinner.” Since Alice had become the CEO, she had developed a reward system. With a rough calculation, Anfey indeed could become rich.

Anfey was shocked for a second before he smiled bitterly. He remembered what Alice had asked him to do. He needed to rob White Mountain City because he needed to get enough funds for the league following the war. However, Anfey could not rob White Mountain City any more, since now Anthony had shown he was on Anfey’s side.

Chapter 444: Threats

Anfey stood on an unfinished mage tower and looked at the city. Michael had begun construction of the tower, showing how ambitious Michael and Ellisen Empire had been.

However, Anfey was too busy to think about Ellisen Empire. He closed his eyes and began meditating. He knew that he was approaching a breakthrough, and he needed to be very careful. If he couldn’t control his power, he could very easily lose control. If he did, it would be disastrous for him.

He needed to be careful and alert. A lot of people would lose control of their power because they thought it was natural for their power to increase. They didn’t know whether it was right for their power to increase and they left it unchecked.

Anfey wanted power. He wanted power to protect what he had and to take what he wanted. He could not allow himself to lose control of his power, because that would destroy everything he had worked for.

In the meeting earlier, he suddenly realized how bored he was with everything. He became disinterested in the mercenaries, even Glory mercenary group. Christian, Blavi, and even Suzanna’s presence became meaningless to him. He knew what this change meant and he was disgusted by it, which was why he needed a quiet place to collect himself and think things through.

“Anfey,” Suzanna called as she jumped up the stairs. She landed next to him lightly. She was very good at finding people, which was why sometimes she could find Anfey even if he was trying to avoid her.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m tired,” Suzanna said with a grin. “I don’t like these political things.”

“What about Christian?”

“They have a lot to talk about, it seems,” Suzanna said with a shrug. “Can I borrow your ring?”

“Which one?”

“The one you got from Honna.”

“What do you need this for?” Anfey asked as he took the ring off and handed it to Suzanna.

“You’ll see,” Suzanna said, putting the ring on her finger. She seemed very happy because they had just won a battle and everyone was praising her and Anfey. She may have been a top level power, but she was still young. Praise could make her very happy.

“What are you going to do with it?” Anfey asked, curious.

Suzanna shrugged and aimed the ring at Anfey. The ring did not change. Suzanna frowned. She turned the ring and aimed it at herself, and the ring bursted into a blinding, golden light. Suzanna lifted a brow and aimed the ring at Anfey again. The ring dimmed and did not light up. “Is it broken?” she asked, confused.

“Don’t worry,” Anfey said. “It’s not.” He had the Heart of Nature and was very in sync with the world. The ring was not powerful enough to detect his power.

“Tell me,” Suzanna said with a frown. “Why isn’t it working?”

Anfey shrugged. “It’s the other type of power I was practicing. I will tell you more later.”

“Is it the Sacred Inheritance?” Suzanna asked tentatively.

Anfey nodded.

“Can…can I?”

“Why can’t you?” Anfey asked with a smile. “We don’t keep secrets.”

Suzanna nodded and smiled. She took the ring off and handed it to Anfey.

“I don’t need it,” Anfey said, shaking his head. He was now powerful enough to be able to detect when something was wrong in his surroundings without the assistance of the ring. “Keep it.”

Suzanna let Anfey put the ring on her and said, “Can I really?” Anfey’s expression was very serious, and she knew this meant that he wasn’t just going to tell her about the inheritance. He was going to teach her.

“It’s going to help you a lot,” Anfey promised her.

“Really? You’re not kidding?” Suzanna asked, her eyes widening. She thought she had already reached the top, but now Anfey was telling her that she had room for even more improvement. This made her very excited and anxious.

Anfey nodded. He could tell Suzanna had another power inside her because of the angel she once absorbed. If she could utilize it to her advantage, she could become one of the best master swordsman and could very well break through the wall no other swordsmaster had broken through for hundreds of year.

“I see,” Suzanna said, nodding. She was very excited, but she was trying to keep her excitement at a manageable level.

Anfey smiled and squeezed her hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hui Wei and Entos chatting in the street.

“What are they doing together?” Anfey asked, curious.

“Who knows?” Suzanna said, shrugging. “They are always together nowadays.”

“Interesting,” Anfey said. “Let’s go take a look.”

Entos and Hui Wei noticed them and turned to greet them.

Anfey looked at the two and saw the dagger in Entos’s hand. It was the dagger he told Hui Wei to give to Alice. “Entos,” Anfey said, realizing what the two were talking about. “Don’t you want a new weapon other than your wand?”

“I’m a mage,” Entos said with a sigh.

“What about today?”

“He wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t asked him to change weapons,” Hui Wei said, shaking his head. “He’s not that smart.”

Entos opened his mouth a few times, wanting to object, but did not say anything. He closed his mouth and his shoulders slumped.

“Hui Wei’s right,” Anfey said. “You should try some other weapons.”

“What kind of weapon do you think I should try?”

“Poison,” Hui Wei and Anfey said in unison.

Entos blinking, then smiled.

“We still have some wyvern,” Hui Wei said. “Hagan can make a dagger for you. I wish we had a Banran Snake. They’re better for making weapons.”

“A priest can easily cancel out the effects of Banran Snakes’ poison,” Entos said.

“No one has time to do that in battle,” Hui Wei argued. “A dagger like this is a waste for you.”

“Fine,” Entos said, shaking his head. He tossed the dagger back to Hui Wei.

“I’ll go talk to Hagan,” Hui Wei said.

“I’ll take care of myself,” Entos said. He turned to Anfey and said, “You should be paying more attention to your own troubles.”

“My troubles?” Anfey asked, frowning.

“You made a name for yourself,” Entos said. “Troubles will come.”

Anfey nodded. “I’ll look out for them,” he said.

Chapter 445: Strictly Following the Rules

Reports written in different tones and styles with similar content were sent out. People who received the reports all read them with wide eyes and dropped jaws. However, after the shock, some laughed as they clapped their hands, some looked concerned and sighed, some screamed in anger, while others fell into long silence.

In a secret chamber in the headquarters of Glory mercenary group, a big and strong white wolf was knocked down and surrounded by several mercenaries. He was tied up tightly by iron wires without any mercy and shackled with antimagic bracelets on his legs and arms.

“David, do you really want to hand him to Anfey?” Anthony asked in a low voice.

“Yes, father,” David said. “This guy just came at the right time. I have been worried that we would not have a good excuse to see Master Anfey.”

“The Country of Mercenaries has become a place everyone wants. Anfey will not necessarily be the winner at the end. Don’t you want to leave us a way out?”

David paused a second before he slowly looked up. “Father, why do we have to leave ourselves a way out?”

“Because…” Anthony did not know how to put it. The reason to leave themselves a way out was obvious, but Anthony had a hard time saying the reasons.

“Father, Marino is already a duke,” David said slowly.

Anthony chuckled. “Christian and Entos talked about Marino in front of us on purpose. They wanted me to know.”

“It means they think we are important,” David said. “Father, at this point, no one knows which party would win. That is why everyone wants our support. Once things are clear, we will not need to worry about which side we are on. By then, would they still want our support as much as now? What is the point in becoming allies with the party that has already won?”

Anthony was quiet. He understood what David was saying. People Anthony’s age usually choose safety over risks. Younger people were more willing to take risks because if they made a poor bet and lost, they could just redo it.

“Father, don’t hesitate anymore,” David said quietly. “King Yolanthe has good vision. Taking over the Country of Mercenaries was only his very first step to conquering the whole Pan Continent. To more effectively destroy his enemy, King Yolanthe would treat us well if we could go help Anfey and work for Maho Empire.”

“I understand what you are saying, but only having one example of Marino is far from enough. Yolanthe needs more people to step forward and claim they are willing to work for him.” Anthony paced the chamber. “We would make a huge difference in the current situation in the Country of Mercenaries if we could claim to be on Anfey’s side. Take Batusimon for example: he could follow us no matter we are going or ally with others. Tiger of Tawau mercenary group is not a good option for us. So…?”

“Father, are you saying King Yolanthe would not be able to see what contribution we could make for him?” David asked.

“Yolanthe is so complicated; we could not figure out what is on his mind. He definitely would be able to tell our contribution to the current situation,” Anthoney said bitterly.

“Are you worried that Yolanthe would not be fair in rewarding us,” David said, “or if we would be suppressed by Marino? You were the uncrowned king in the Country of Mercenaries. I bet Yolanthe must think you are more important than Marino. If he were not fair, he would not be King Yolanthe who receives love and respect from his people. Of course, we have to do everything we can for him first and let him see our sincerity in working for him.”

Anthony went quiet for a while and heaved a sigh. He nodded. “Ok, you will be the commander of Glory mercenary group sooner or later. If you want to take the risk, I support you.” There was something Anthony did not say: as long as Anthony was alive, he would protect David as much as he could. Even if David made mistakes, others would not blame David too much because of him.

“Father.” David was very shocked when he felt his father trying to pass his business to him.

“Go.” Anthony smiled. “Since you have made your decision, then go do it. Your grandpa told me I was conservative when I was young. I see aggression on you now. Maybe you could start a new chapter for Glory mercenary group.”

David looked a little excited. When a person accomplished something, who did he want to show the most? His family. Anthony’s compliments were the most important for David. David paused before he said in a low voice, “Father, can you control my mother a little bit? She talks a lot. It might cause us some unnecessary trouble.”

Anthony shook his head. “Let her be. You do not have to worry about her.”

“Father, you…” David tried to say something.

“She was not good enough to do anything serious,” Anthony said calmly. ” Anyway, we need test Anfey’s ability to forgive. If he could forgive her, it shows he could make big accomplishments. You have to figure out a way to be his friend. If he could not forgive your mother, it does not matter anyway. It will look like we seek help from the League of Mercenaries, but actually we work for Yolanthe. Anfey would not do anything to us anyway.

“I see,” David said.

In the city hall of White Mountain City, Anfey and Christian looked at each other but did not speak. They both looked worried. The issue of food had been bothering them for a long time. They had not had any good days, and had been worried about food since they left Shield of Light Legion. Now they received hundreds thousands of starving refugees in White Mountain City, which gave them more pressure to find food.

They were not cheap about food. They just did not have any. The Country of Mercenaries did not produce any food. All the food in the Country of Mercenaries was transported from other places. Of course, the food was a few more expensive than in the original places. When there were natural disasters, the price would be ridiculously high. This was also the reason mercenaries could barely feed themselves even though they worked very hard. At that moment, Glory mercenary group still had some food stocked, but no one dared to use it since they understood the close relationship between League of Mercenaries and the Glory mercenary group. Therefore, the mercenaries of the League of Mercenaries and Glory mercenary group were fed first. The rest of the people were still starving.

For the past few days, a large group of mercenaries had left White Mountain City. Anfey felt he could have recruited these mercenaries and would need their help in the future. It was painful to lose them, but he had no way to stop them. He could not force them to stay to continue living without food and heat. The security in the city was getting worse. Small confrontations were everywhere. Starving people would do anything to survive.

Feller and David walked in talking and laughing. They had not had a chance to work with Anfey, but David was familiar with the people close to Anfey. To show respect to Anthony, David was not required to report to anyone, no matter where he wanted to go, because of his special background.

“David, why are you here?” Christian stood up and smiled when he saw David coming.

“Lord, Master,” David said, bowing a bit. “I have a spy from Blackwater City. He dared to see my father. I am bringing him here.” David waved his hand and a few Glory mercenaries dragged a white wolf in.

“Ye, he is yours now,” Anfey said, pointing at a chair next to him. “David, come and take a seat.”

“Thank you, master.” David slowly took a seat. He took a look at Anfey and Christian and asked. “Master, is there anything bothering you?”

“Alice is coming to White Mountain City soon,” Christian said.

“Alice?” David was shocked when he heard the news.

“Alice is the CEO of the League of Mercenaries. Everyone, including Anfey and me, has to listen to her,” Christian said quietly. He wanted to show the importance of Alice to David so that Glory mercenary group would remember that they needed to listen to her as well, if Anfey and he had to listen to her.

“Where is Master Alice from?” David asked.

“She used to be a slave. We saved her by accident. Because of her exceptional ability, she has been taking the duty of the administration for the League of Mercenaries,” Anfey said.

David looked confused. He could not understand why Anfey, with his current position, capability and reputation, had to be constrained by a female slave.

It made sense that David could not understand, since Anfey was influenced by modern civilization and had gotten used to the idea that each person had his own position and duties. A chief executive was stopped outside of the door because he forgot his pass. The rules should be strictly followed from top to bottom. Anfey did not want to be the exception. For example, after Alice forbid alcohol, Anfey immediately set an example for everyone. His behavior directly influenced everyone in the League of Mercenaries. It was largely because of Anfey’s example that the League of Mercenaries could all follow the rules in a short period of time. If he thought he was special and did not have to follow the rules, then Blavi, Riska and few others might have made exceptions for themselves too. The Commanders, like Ozzic might follow Riska and Blavi and made exceptions for themselves. If this situation spread, the so-called rules would just be jokes.

“Arlango sent someone with a letter for us. He connected with the people from Storm mercenary group,” Anfey said slowly. “It is time to get connected with Batusimon. We do not have much going on here anyway. Suzanna and I will go to the headquarters of Storm mercenary group tomorrow to check it out. We should be back in three days.”

“Stop!” Christian saw through Anfey immediately. “You need to leave after Alice comes. You can wait a few more days.” Alice made it clear in the war planning that someone had to take the responsibility for not having enough food and funds.

“We do not need to do that.” Anfey looked helpless. “Christian, you are the prince. Alice would not blame you.”

“I think she would consider your feelings too.” Christian chuckled. “You and her had such a special relationship. I think…”

“Don’t bullsh*t!” Anfey nervously looked around.

“Suzanna went to patrol the city. She will not come back until noon. Look at you. You are so nervous,” Christian said.

David vaguely got what they were talking about. He asked: “Master, Lord, what makes you so concerned?”

“What could it be? Food and money,” Christian said bitterly.

“I cannot help with food. But…” David smiled. “When death spirits attacked White Mountain City, many merchant wagons were stuck in the city. We took them in the city. They had nothing but money. We have beaten the necromancers, but they still have no idea of the situation outside White Mountain City. They only sent a few people back to their own cities, while most businessmen are still in the Glory mercenary group. If you are interested, I think you could talk to them.

Chapter 446: Studies

The northeastern side of White Mountain City was in the worst shape. This was where the zombies and necromancers had attacked. Part of the wall had already collapsed and the houses nearby were burned to the ground.

Anfey walked down a narrow street, observing the ruins. Security around the city was very tight now because over twenty-five thousand mercenaries were in the city. In order to prevent any conflicts or brawls, he organized hundreds of small patrol teams so the mercenaries wouldn’t get bored.

He had only walked a few blocks and already had run into two patrols. Most of the mercenaries knew Anfey and would nod when they walked passed him. Anfey wanted to appear more amicable to the mercenaries and would smile and nod back as well.

Anfey stopped when he was getting close to the wall. A few mercenaries were lying under the damaged wall.

Anfey walked over and said, “It’s still light. Are you taking a nap?”

The mercenaries did not stir.

“This is a strange time, isn’t it?” Anfey asked, smiling. “You really should have waited until nightfall. Now you’re trapped here, which is why you’re here pretending that you’re asleep. It’s sad, really.”

The mercenaries did not move.

“I’m talking to you,” Anfey said. “Shouldn’t you say something back? You know, because it’s a respectful thing to do?”

One of the mercenaries sat up and pushed his hat back. He looked at Anfey as if he was surprised and pointed at himself.

“Kukuri, I heard you’re well respected among your people,” Anfey said slowly. “Some even say you will surpass Manstuly one day. I know. Don’t play dumb.”

The mercenary frowned. The other men around him jumped up, looking at Anfey.

“Unfortunately, whoever said that about you is wrong,” Anfey said, looking at the men. Manstuly had sent his men after Suzanna, and Anfey would never forgive him for involving her.

“You can read the stars?” Kukuri asked.

“No,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “But I don’t need to read the stars to know that you’re not match for me.” Kukuri was Manstuly’s nephew and was well respected. Anfey couldn’t let him slip away.

A dark figure appeared and crashed to the ground between Anfey and the druids. It was the body of a large wolf, battered and bruised.

“Your friend was admirable,” Ye said, appearing around the corner. “He wouldn’t give you up. Unfortunately, we have a necromancer working for us.”

“You’re working with necromancers?” Kukuri asked, shocked.

“So what?” Anfey asked. Powerful people have fewer restraints on them because of their power. Kukuri took a deep breath and took a few steps forward. He didn’t want any conflicts. His goal was to speak with Nishieva and learn more about the city. Michael had said he could trust Nishieva, which was why he did not expect the man he sent to be spotted so easily.

Nishieva was a very emotional person. She was Anthony’s wife and she had been married to him for years. However, because the alliance greatly outnumbered, and could easily overpower, Glory mercenary group, Anthony could not risk what he worked for his entire life for Nishieva.

“You want to challenge me?” Anfey asked, amused. “Don’t worry, I won’t stoop as low as Manstuly. I’ll give you a fair chance.” He waved his hand and Shinbella appeared around the corner.

“She is a senior swordsmaster,” Anfey said. “If you can defeat her, I will let you go.”

“Are you play me, my lord?” Kukuri asked quietly.

“Do you think I need to?” Anfey asked, shaking his head. “Like I said, I won’t stoop as low as Manstuly.”

Anfey kept insulting Manstuly, but Kukuri could not find a valid objection. He was angry that someone could insult his uncle so freely, but he understood why Anfey was very angry with Manstuly and he knew that it was Manstuly’s fault, not Anfey’s. If Manstuly had not attacked Suzanna, the relationship between Anfey and Manstuly wouldn’t be so bad.

However, he did not have time to think. He needed to defeat Shinbella to save himself and his men.

“I don’t know why he keeps doing this,” Christian said with a sigh. He knew that Anfey wouldn’t let Kukuri and his men get away, because he had brought Suzanna and Entos along.

“I don’t get it,” Blavi said. “He could take care of those druids easily. Why is he doing this?”

“Because his next target is Manstuly himself,” Zubin said. “Kukuri is Manstuly’s nephew and a respected member of his clan. He wanted to see how powerful they could be so he could be prepared for his battle with Manstuly.” Zubin paused and smiled. “He’s powerful, sure, but so is Manstuly. Know thine enemy, Blavi.”

“Then what are we doing here?”

“Because we need to learn more about those druids as well,” Christian said. “Manstuly has a lot of loyal followers. He won’t be fighting alone when the day comes. We have to fight alongside Anfey as well. We need to know their style of battle.”

“I see,” Blavi said, nodding with a frown. He narrowed his eyes and watched the druids carefully.

Christian and Zubin glanced at each other with a grin before turning back to the druids as well.

Chapter 447: Kill

Fighting had many distinctive styles, which changed as the fighters changed. Some fights were intense, cool, or fast. The fight between Shinbela and Kukuri had its own special style, bloody!

People at the scene, including Anfey, all thought Kukuri was so desperate that he definitely would fight as hard as he could, like fighting for his life. His motivation and fighting ability were both at the best. Shinbela did not have to risk her life for this fight, so it seemed like Shinbela would be in a disadvantage. Whether Shinbela would win the fight depended on her own fighting ability.

However, everyone at the scene was shocked as the fight started. It was clear they had been wrong, of perhaps only half right.

Kukuri had tried hard as the fight started. After releasing Transformation magic, his attacks seemed to be more aggressive and faster. He was as fast as lightning. His strong claws made an ear-piercing sound every time they moved through the air. Kukuri could even release magic as he fought physically. It seemed like he as two people in one fighting against Shinbela.

No matter how much Kukuri tried, he could not get the advantage in the fight, even though he was fighting for his life.

Kukuri thought Anfey would keep his word after he had made a public promise, since Anfey held the highest position in the League of Mercenaries. This was Kukuri’s only hope. He had to beat this swordswoman. However, he was constrained. He could hurt or beat Shinbela, but he dared not kill her.

Shinbela was more aggressive than everyone expected, which gave Kukuri an illusion that she hated him for personal reasons. In fact, Shinbela’s attitudes towards life played a role in it. She had loved Manlyn so much, but he cheated on her, which almost destroyed Shinbela. Shinbela killed Manlyn at the end, but the whole world became grey to her. The troops under her father’s leadership had merged into the League of Mercenaries. Anfey should be able to lead them to a bright future. The only thing she cared about was solved.

People who tried as hard as they could actually still cared about their lives, otherwise they would not have tried so hard. But Shinbela did not seem to care whether she was alive or dead.

Anfey and others retreated dozens of yards away. As sword radiances and wind blades flew everywhere in the air, more wounds showed up on Shinbela and Kukuri. Shinbela seemed to get hurt more. There were four deep scratches on her left face, from her left ear all the way to the lips. The flash flipped open and mixed with blood. Her left chest armor was torn by Kukuri and showed more than half of her breast. The wound on her chest looked terrifying, but Shinbela did not seem to care. Even the horniest mercenaries did not care to stare at her breast. They all froze there, watching this bloody fight. Shinbela’s left hand, if it could still be recognized as a hand, had been twisted out of shape after the hard clashes. Minor wounds were everywhere on her body.

Even thought Shinbela was hurt badly, she was still very aggressive and kept attacking Kukuri. She had been on the offensive since the very beginning. In previous battles, she had never met any opponents at this level, so nobody had paid attention to her until this fight. Her dark side completed showed.

Kukuri was no better than Shinbela. He was covered with wounds, but he did not forget to protect himself, so the wounds on him were not serious. Druids’ defensive abilities might not be as good as swordsmen’s, but they were still very good. In addition, their bodies were tougher than regular humans. Kukuri still had strong fighting ability after being hurt.

Suzanna could not keep herself from jumping on the city wall, constantly looking at Anfey. She hoped the fight would end soon.

The longer Kukuri fought, the more disappointed he got. Each time they approached each other, they added another wound to the other. Kukuri suddenly screamed. His glowing green eyes turned red. His breathing got heavier. The white foam in his mouth splashed disgustingly and he suddenly picked up his speed. He changed from rushing forward to moving backwards without pause.

When Shinbela turned around, Kukuri had left a series of shadows in the air after running extremely fast. As he rushed in front of Shinbela, Kukuri stared at her throat, but he attacked her left leg instead, which seemed like the best way to beat her without killing her.

Kukuri move his claws so fast that no one could follow their movements. He tore Shinbela’s combat power apart and scratched Shinbela’s thigh open. Shinbela still kept her aggressive fighting style even though she was hurt. In other words, she fought as if she did not care about her life. Without dodging, she swung her sword at Kukuri. Kukuri tried to jump away from her attack, but Shinbela, as a senior swordswoman, could pose a threat to anyone except top powers with her fast speed. The white wolf was so big that he dodged away in the front, but did not fall back. Shinbela swung right into his behind.

Shinbela was hurt more from this attack, but she had been pressing her lips together, while Kukuri could not help screaming. The next moment, he saw Shinbela limp towards him. Kukuri felt he was going to be crushed soon.

Anfey finally spoke: “Shinbela!”

Shinbela stopped and turned around to look at Anfey. Anfey had saved her, so she was willing to listen to him even though her body and mind were not willing to work anymore.

“You lost the fight.” Anfey slowly walked to Shinbela.

Kukuri heaved a long sigh and moved back. He hoped to get further away from that horrible woman.

Shinbela physique was very strong and masculine, even more so than Kukuri’s. Her body was still straight, just a little shaky. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Maybe it was because of the severe pain she suffered. The blood oozing from the wounds on her thigh had dyed her leg armor and boots red in a brief time.

“Do you know why you lost the fight? Because you did not show your real fighting ability.” As Anfey finished talking to Shinbela, a milky white light appeared between his fingers. Anfey shoot the light cloud out.

Shinbela did not even blink when the light cloud hit her forehead. In a brief time, her body was covered under the milky white light. The crowd did not know what Shinbela was feeling, but did see the purity and clarity of the light. The light was bright but did not blind them. It looked very soothing.

As the saying goes, the pros know the ropes, but amateurs just follow along. Regular mercenaries did not notice anything special, but the senior level mercenaries were all stunned. Entos almost bit his tongue when he saw what happened from a distance with the Eyes of the Sky. Warner, praying, jumped like he was shocked. “Wow! The element surges are so pure. Who is it?”

Shinbela lowered her head after hearing what Anfey told her. She was not stupid. Anfey did not say it directly, but she knew Anfey only wanted to see the fighting ability of wolves with this fight and she did not even care about protecting herself.

Anfey walked to Shinbela and held her left hand to take a look. Her wrist and forearm were both broken. Four of her fingers were broken as well. In fact, Anfey could not see through Shinbela’s skin with his sensing ability; he just knew what had happened to Shinbela, although he could not understand how he knew. He had been able to sense anything he wanted since he entered the Inner Alchemy stage.

“Don’t move and don’t use your left hand,” Anfey said quietly.

Shinbela gave a slight nod.

Anfey felt Shinbela’s hand, arm and fingers. Shinbela bit her lips, but she was strong. She neither moved nor fought with Anfey.

Anfey looked like he grabbed something in the air. The dirt next to his feet suddenly flew into the air, which was followed by a gust of water. They mixed together and became a mud ball. The mud ball looked like it was alive. It fell on Shinbela’s arm and covered her forearm, wrist, and fingers. With an intense magic surge, a bright fire flashed, which made the crowd all instinctively close their eyes. The mud on Shinbela’s arm immediately turned a dark green.

Anfey knocked a few times on the mud and it made clear hollow sounds. He nodded in satisfaction. “Come to see me in the evening. I will check on you again. Remember, don’t use your left arm, ok?”

“Ok,” Shinbela responded softly, as quiet as a mosquito flying by.

“Zubin, what’s wrong with Commander Shinbela? Does she have some issue with druids?” As an outsider, David did not know the story behind this fight. He quietly asked Zubin out of curiosity.

“Shinbela used to be the commander of Jagged Roses mercenary group. She fell in love with a man named Manlyn. She loved him very much and even let him be in charge of the whole mercenary group. She never thought he would cheat on her, but he went after Alice. He did not only dump Shibela but also kept her in jail. Actually, Shinbela is a poor girl.”

“Alice again? She has a lot of stories.” David had heard the name “Alice” many times that day. From top to bottom in the League of Mercenaries, everyone had different reactions to Alice. Anfey looked worried when he heard Alice was coming, while regular mercenaries in the league were quite excited about it.

“Master Anfey, can we leave now?” Kukuri asked quietly.

“I will keep my word,” Anfey said calmly. He did not care to talk with Kukuri. “Kumaraghosha, bring a stretcher over.”

“I can walk by myself…” Shinbela swallowed the rest of the sentence as she saw Anfey looking intently at her.

Kukuri and his companions had only walked a few steps when Suzanna jumped off the city wall and coldly blocked their way.

Kukuri looked shocked and turned around, yelling at Anfey in anger: “Master Anfey!”

Anfey looked at them with disdain. Since it was clear that wolves were his enemies, there was no reason to treat his enemies with mercy. Treating enemies with mercy was no different than treating himself cruelly, especially when Kukuri was the hope of the wolves. He had to kill such an opponent as soon as possible.

Chapter 448: Mistakes

Alice arrived at White Mountain City with Marino and thousands of men from Band of Brothers mercenary group. Anfey was worried about how he should receive Alice. After hearing that Marino was with her, he decided to bring all the important people to greet them.

Before Alice’s arrival, all the magic portals in the city became very busy. The most important letters to Anfey were from Saul and Yolanthe.

Yolanthe praised his achievements and his strength, and the wording of the letter showed that the king was very excited about what Anfey had achieved. Clearly, he did not expect Anfey to achieve what he had, and Anfey’s victory at White Mountain City came as a pleasant surprise. Yolanthe also gave Anthony the title of duke, the same rank Marino received. Yolanthe asked Anfey to give the letter to Baery and have Baery give the news to Anthony.

Anfey understood why Yolanthe gave him the letter. If Anthony was trustworthy, then Yolanthe could openly make him a nobleman. If he wasn’t, Anfey should destroy the letter immediately. When Yolanthe gave Marino his title, Baery had been the one to deliver the news. Yolanthe couldn’t go to White Mountain City, and Christian was still not as important. The only fitting person to deliver the news was Baery. This was a risk, because if Scarlet learned that Baery had left his army, what would she do? But Yolanthe couldn’t just let anyone announce the news.

Anfey was very surprised because Yolanthe clearly trusted him enough have him make the decision alone. Yolanthe was very good at finding capable people, and when he found someone he believed was capable of great things, Yolanthe would trust this person.

Anfey wasn’t an ambitious person, and he achieved what he did because of luck and chance. He wanted to be a part of the society and was changed by society. He valued power much more than had had before.

Saul’s letter did not praise him. Instead, Saul kept reminding Anfey to be humble and not let his success cloud his judgement. Then he wrote briefly about what was happening in Sacred City. Saul told him not to be worried about anything in Sacred City because what he had done in White Mountain City was enough to silence any voices of objection against him in the court.

Yolanthe had told the court that Anfey had known a supreme power when he was a child. Even though some had already learned of this, most of the people in the court did not know. This turned the tide in favor of Anfey, and the nobles began praising Yolanthe for his wisdom.

Some noblemen might not have been smart enough to be part of the political conflict, but everyone knew how rare and important a supreme power was. If Anfey really had studied under a supreme power and was on track to become a supreme power himself, then he would be an invaluable addition to Maho Empire. Yolanthe would never sabotage such a valuable alliance just because a few noblemen were upset with Anfey.

This was why the situation in Sacred City changed so fast. The nobility tried to make their transitions smooth to avoid becoming laughingstocks and began praising Anfey and Yolanthe. The last known supreme power was a pope from hundreds of years ago. If Anfey became a supreme power, it would be good for the empire. If he didn’t, he still had a teacher who was a supreme power who could help Maho Empire.

Baery sent a letter as well, writing about Scarlet and her army. After the alliance took over White Mountain City, Scarlet set out towards Blackwater City. It seems like Shansa Empire was gathering manpower other than with the aid King Jerrick sent.

The changes in the country would affect him in the future, but that was not Anfey’s immediate concern. He stood on the wall and watched the approaching carriages and mercenaries. He was very glad that he had been able to solve the money situation. This way, he could resolve Alice’s money and wage situation.

The previous day, Anfey had spoken with the merchants from Tumen Commercial Union. He thought that the merchants would be strict and the negotiation would be difficult, but the merchants surprised him by agreeing to his deal immediately.

Anfey could tell that the merchants really did want to help him, because the merchants were smart men and knew the importance of siding with the right person. Even though he wasn’t familiar with the ways of the merchants, he didn’t need to look too much into this situation. He signed a contract with the merchants and borrowed twelve thousand gold pieces from them.

The merchants were from Tumen Commercial Union, and Maho Empire had been protecting their union for decades. These merchants knew how well Yolanthe treated them. Anfey was Yolanthe’s representative, and the merchants respected him. He was also the head of the alliance and had just taken over White Mountain City. The merchants knew Anfey could very well become the person to unite Country of Mercenaries. Working with Anfey worked in their favor.

Anfey narrowed his eyes and spotted Marino and Alice. Anfey hopped off the wall and hurried out of the gate, followed by Christian, Suzanna, Anthony, the other mercenary leaders, and the mages. Zubin brought David along as well.

“Welcome,” Anfey said, waving at Marino. He turned to Alice and said with a smile, “I’m afraid you’re going to be very busy.”

Alice and Marino turned to Anfey but did not say anything. Anfey had killed Michael, meaning that he must be about to break through and become a supreme power. So many people worked towards this goal and failed. If he could achieve this goal when he was this young, what would he do in the future? Alice realized that she had made a mistake trying to seduce Anfey just after she met him.

At that time, Anfey had not been very close with Suzanna. She must have made a bad impression then. If she tried to evoke his sympathy and show her abilities bit by bit, she was certain that she would never have lost to Suzanna. Of course, now it was too late and she couldn’t seduce him anymore. She could only do everything possible to try and make herself invaluable to his team. This way, he would recognize her power and keep her in his inner circle, which was the center of power in this country right now.

Chapter 449: Lifeline

Everyone introduced themselves to each other after they walked into the city hall of White Mountain City. It was interesting to see how Anthony and Marino, two old friends, interacted. They took a long look at each other and suddenly laughed together. They shook hands, laughed at their previous confrontations, and just let whatever had been between them go.

After sitting for awhile in the conference room, Anthony and Marino excused themselves. Seeing Anfey and other young men, they felt their time had passed. It was undeniable that these young people already had the power to change the situation in the Country of Mercenaries. In the future, they would become more experienced, powerful and mature. They could become a force to change the world. Anthony and Marino felt they were really getting old.

Blavi and others all knew how Alice acted on the job. They knew she would immediately go directly to the topic, so they followed Anthony and Marino and left the conference room. Besides Alice, only Anfey, Christian and Suzanna remained. Anfey was the leader of the League of Mercenaries, while the other three were the executives. They had to manage everything in the league.

“Look at your face. You must have collected a lot rewards.” As everyone expected, Alice could not wait any longer to get to the topic. Alice, like everyone else, knew herself well. She knew she had to put herself 100% into work to make herself feel better.

“Yes, 120,000 gold coins in total, 20,000 gold coins more than you thought,” Christian said. “So, Alice, you should be happy now, right?”

“Exactly 120,000 gold coins?” Alice asked.

“Yes,” Suzanna answered.

“That is strange.” Alice thought a little bit and laid her eyes on Anfey. “You did not take them from those merchants, did you?”

Suzanna was surprised that Alice guessed it right. “How did you know?” she said.

“Of course she knows. It is exactly 120,000 gold coins, no more and no less. If they were the rewards we collected from the war, how would it be exactly 120,000?” Anfey said, smiling.

“Alice, I do not think it is appropriate to say ‘take from them’.” Christian tried to explain in a low voice. “We did not force them to fund us. They volunteered.” Christian vividly described how eagerly those businessmen wanted to fund them. Suzanna had not been there with Christian, but she found him funny and laughed.

“Did you write them receipts for the loans?” Alice asked in surprise.

“Huh?” Anfey was shocked for a second. “It would robbery if I did not write them receipts. Alice, don’t worry. They were pretty good about it. The loans could be paid back in 20 years without interest. If we could take over Blackwater City, we would be able to have control of the Country of Mercenaries. 120,000 gold coins would be nothing; I could even get 1,200,000 gold coins.”

Alice interrupted Anfey. “Do you understand how to maximize your interests? Anfey, don’t take it personally. It is ok if Christian and Suzanna do not understand, but you should understand.”

Alice sounded a little harsh. Anfey and the other two were shocked. Suzanna was worried Anfey would get mad. She even nudged Anfey. In fact, Suzanna did not have to worry, because Anfey was very calm, reasonable and able to acknowledge his mistakes and correct them. If what Alice said was good for everyone in the league, no matter how harsh she sounded, Anfey would be ok with it. Anfey believed people made improvements by correcting themselves and learning from the mistakes.

“Alice, do you mean…” Anfey asked quietly. He was not mad at all. Instead, he reflected on what he had done to provoke Alice.

“I am sorry,” Alice said bitterly. She lost her cool a bit out of jealousy, but she immediately realized what was wrong. She tried to sound nicer. “Let me explain. In fact, the palace and business arenas are just like battlefields. Anfey, take you for example: what do you want when you fight someone? You want to minimize your damage, but give your opponent a fatal strike, end the battle in the shortest time, and terrify your opponent, right?”

Anfey slowly nodded. What Alice said was all basically right.

“This is also about maximizing your interests. If those businessmen eagerly signed the magic contracts with you, it shows you could have asked more from them: that is, what you wanted was way less than what they planned to give. That is why they eagerly tried to fund you.”

“Alice, are you saying we fell into their trap?” Christian looked confused. “But we did get gold coins from them.”

Suzanna could not understand why signing magic contracts and received 120,000 gold coins would be losing. She did not think they lost anything.

“We could have gotten more from them. We lost what we should have received. That is losing!” Alice sounded somewhat serious. “Businessmen are good at calculations. No one could be better than them.”

After pausing for a second, Alice continued, “Take this time, for example. They made you guys appreciate them with only 120,000 gold coins. Our league is worth more than that. Anfey, 120,000 gold coins can be a lot of money for any of us. Do you think 120,000 gold coins are a lot of money to our league? I bet you I could spend them in two days.”

Anfey rubbed his nose and tilted his head. He and Christian exchanged glances. Anfey said, with a serious look, “Christian, you’d better learn from Alice. You will need it in the future.”

Christian did not know whether he should cry or laugh. He turned around and ignored Anfey.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Can you guys be serious. I thought you would have good vision, but you are not even as good as those merchants.”

Anfey cleared his throat and straighten his back. Christian and Suzanna put on serious faces too.

“If we could have control of the Country of Mercenaries, we would have control of the magic crystals and the lifeline of the whole Pan Continent,” Alice said.

“Wait a second, Alice.” Anfey planned to hear out Alice’s analysis, but had to interrupt her now. “We can’t have the lifeline of the Pan Continent. Do you understand?”

Alice looked at Christian, “Christian, since we are talking about it, can I add some of my personal comments?”

Christian chuckled. “Alice, you can say whatever you want to say.”

Anfey stopped Alice again. “Alice, you don’t have to say it. We trust your judgements. What we need to talk about now is whether we would be able to make up what we lost.” In fact, Anfey still did not get the point, but he knew he needed to stop Alice from making comments. They were all friends, and Alice was acknowledged as one of them. If she needed Christian’s permission to speak, her comments must be about Yolanthe and be shocking for everyone. She might offend Christian and Yolanthe.

Alice was smart, so she realized she lost her cool again. She did not seem to be able to calm down after she found out Anfey killed Archmage Michael. She knew she missed a man she could depend on for her whole life, a man who could be one of the most powerful men in the world. Regrets, envy and other negative feelings had been bothering her. She had not been able to look at Suzanna because she was afraid Anfey would notice something unusual about her. She was not able to take care of other things.

Christian shrugged. Actually, he secretly felt relieved. He was more nervous than Anfey had been. As a prince, he was responsible to protect the dignity of his royal family. If Alice’s comments offended his family, he had to step forward and condemn her, but that would hurt his relationship with Alice and Anfey. Not hearing Alice out did not seem appropriate either. He was in a dilemma.

Anfey held the highest leadership position in the League of Mercenaries and was in charge of development of the league and appointments for the battles. Alice was in charge of administrative issues. Christian was in charge of coordinating mercenary units. Because of his special background, everyone would accept whatever he said. Three of them had developed very clear cut duties. This triad shaped and balanced relationships. Christian realized maybe this was the most reasonable and stable way for the leadership of the league. If their relationships were destroyed, their future would be gone as well.

“Let me think…” Alice frowned.

“I have an idea. I just don’t know if it would work.” Anfey did not know much about business, but he was very smart and flexible. He thought of someone, and that person gave him an idea. However, the idea sounded a little too passive because it needed those merchants themselves to feel bad about it. Anfey did not know if it would work.

“Why don’t you tell us about it?” Alice looked up.

“I know a businessman. He is the boss of the Cloud Chamber of Commerce. His name is Arlango. He listens to me, but he went to buy food. Once he comes back, I can ask him to donate some gold coins to us, but,” Anfey sounded a little hesitant, “would the donation look too fake? Businessmen only care about their interests. How could they donate money for no reason?”

“No, it is not fake. I can show Arlango how to do it.” Alice’s eyes brightened. “When will he be back?”

“Soon. He should be back in few days”, Anfey said.

“Where did he go to buy food? No matter whether he went to Maho Empire or Ellisen Empire, it would take him at least a month or two,” Alice said.

“I knew we would face a lack of food, so I asked Arlango go to Death Roaring Legion and Shield of Light Legion to see General Baery with an object that he could recognize as mine,” Anfey said.

“Buying and selling military supplies is a serious crime,” Alice smiled, “but…I take back what I said. You do have good vision.”

“Forget about it.” Anfey was not too happy about Alice’s comment.

Chapter 450: Emotions

Anfey and Christian walked side by side down the small path. Kumaraghosha followed them with a small group of mercenaries. Anfey didn’t need protection, but Kumaraghosha insisted that walking around alone did not befit his status.

Everyone was different when it comes to having guards accompany them. Some people, like Newyoheim and Michael, prefer bringing guards along, even though guards were unnecessary, because they saw the guards as a display of power. Others, like Yolanthe and Saul, liked to keep to themselves and draw as little attention as possible. Because of Saul’s influence, his students did not like drawing too much attention to themselves either. Even though they all held power now, none of Anfey’s friends hired any guards or maids.

“Spring is coming,” Christian said, looking at a nearby tree.

“Christian!” Anfey said, smiling. “You’ve talked about everything from legends to schools to prostitutes. What are you trying to get at?”

Christian smiled. “I just think we haven’t talked in a long time.”

“We can talk for an entire day if you want,” Anfey said. “I’m just curious what has you so worried.”

Christian smiled and shook his head. He stopped and glanced at the mercenaries. Seeing he had stopped, Kumaraghosha stopped the mercenaries just out of earshot.

“Alright,” Anfey said. “Let’s talk. Tell me, don’t lie. Have you slept with any of the women here?”

“What?” Christian asked, surprised.

“Tell me honestly,” Anfey said.

“I’ve only been to bars a handful of times,” Christian admitted. “And I only went to drink.”

Anfey smiled. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “You’re a good person. But even you must have urges.”

Christian blushed. “I don’t have time to think about anything else,” he said quietly. “Everyone thinks I’m so talented, but I’m not talented. I need to work very hard to achieve what my peers achieve easily.” He paused, turning away from Anfey and muttering under his breath, “Sexual urges are natural.”

“Do you go to bars then?” Anfey asked.

“That’s Blavi,” Christian said, shaking his head. “I don’t have time. All I need to do is meditate to calm myself down.”

Anfey frowned. “You need to let go a little once in a while. I’ll talk to Blavi about it.”

“No,” Christian said. “I don’t want to do that. There’s no need making those girls’ lives worse.”

“It’s their job,” Anfey said. “The mercenaries risk their lives everyday. Don’t they deserve pity as well?”

“It’s not the same,” Christian said. “No one wants to be a prostitute if they can help it. The girls didn’t choose this. Society forced them into it. I am sure none of them actually enjoys their job. And the slaves. Their lives are even worse than the prostitutes.”

Anfey nodded. “Good,” he said. “You’re worried about the people’s lives.”

Christian said, “I want to think about things from the point of view of normal people,” he said. “Gives me whole new perspective.”

“You really hate slavery, don’t you?” Anfey said. “If you become the successor, you will abolish the practice?”

“That’s too far in the future,” Christian said.

“Let’s just pretend it has come true,” Anfey said. “Tell me. What will you do?”

Christian thought about it for a few moments then sighed. “I won’t do anything,” he said.

“Why?”

“It’s too risky. The nobility are all slave owners. So are the officials and merchants. Even some commoners own slaves. I cannot fight against an entire system by myself. If I want to do it, I will do it slowly. I will change the law to, say, free the slaves’ children. If that works, I will wait again for the society to accept those children and make new laws to ensure the slaves’ safety and give them more rights. I would need to take things slowly and make sure every step is taken after society has come to terms with the previous step.”

“So complicated,” Anfey said, frowning.

“It’s not just complicated,” Christian said with a smile. “There is no way a ruler can completely abolish slavery by himself. This is a collective effort made by everyone in the society and the generations to come.” Christian paused and sighed. “Let’s talk about something else. I can talk all day about this.”

“I like your plan,” Anfey said with a smile. This conversation reminded him that he did not have the mind for politics. Even though Christian was inexperienced, he was still a better politician. Anfey made a mental note not to get too involved in politics.

“It’s not good,” Christian said with a sigh. “Did someone say something?”

Anfey nodded. “Blavi said you got angry with them yesterday. Heard you’re scary when you’re angry.”

“I knew it,” Christian said. “What did Blavi say?”

“I understand why you did what you did,” Anfey said, “but isn’t it a little too much?”

Christian frowned. What happened wasn’t exactly Blavi’s fault. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Blavi had gone to the bar with Ozzic and Tiger. Tiger was flirting with one of the barmaids, but the maid didn’t know who Tiger was and ignored him. Tiger found the owner of the bar and complained, causing the bar owner to punish the maid. The maid grew angry and said some insulting things in her anger. Tiger grew angry as well and kicked the maid. Because he was too strong, the kick knocked the woman unconscious.

Christian happened to be passing by the bar and heard the commotion. He became very angry after learning what had happened.

“You scared Tiger,” Anfey said. “Tiger has been with us for a long time. Plus, the woman was at fault as well. She shouldn’t have insulted him.”

“I cannot allow this,” Christian said sternly. “Everyone is different and I don’t want to be too strict, but I don’t need to cause chaos in this city.”

“Blavi also brought up the fact that you’re still single,” Anfey said. “And I agree with him. Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Do you know why Grandon and Wester are still unmarried?”

“Grandon is in love with Niya, but I don’t know anything about Wester.”

“We are princes,” Christian said. “Marriage is the most important decision we can make in our entire lives. No one wants to rush into this decision. I’m waiting. Which is why I’m jealous of you and Suzanna. You can decide your own destiny. You cannot let her down.”

Anfey frowned, then smiled. “Is this what you want to talk to me about?”

“Alice always acts strange around you,” Christian said. “I think we both understand why. You’re my friend and so is Suzanna. I don’t want to see a rift between you two.”

“Don’t worry,” Anfey said. “Suzanna is true to herself. She is loyal. Sometimes she rushes into a decision that may not be the best. Some may say she is immature, but I like it. Alice, on the other hand, thinks too much. I trust her because right now she works for us. Her thinking benefits us. If one day I become an useless old man or do something horribly wrong and become the most hated man in the world, Suzanna will still stand by me. Alice would never do that, and she knows it.”

Christian nodded. “That won’t ever happen, though.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Anfey said. “That’s what is different about them. For me, Suzanna is irreplaceable.”

“So you must have noticed Alice.”

“So?” Anfey said with a shrug. “If that maid you saved wants to marry you, will you do it?”

“No,” Christian said, “but that’s different.”

“I won’t, either,” Anfey said. “Suzanna had been protecting me for so long, it’s my turn to protect her.”

Christian nodded. “I trust you, of course,” he said, glancing at Anfey’s window. “I’ll go now. Suzanna must be waiting for you.”

“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” Anfey asked.

“Alice…”

“Don’t worry about her,” Anfey reassured him. “She’s a very sensible person. She won’t let her emotions get in the way of the alliance. She values this more than we do.”

“Really?”

Anfey nodded. “If this falls apart, we can go back to Maho Empire. The mercenaries can keep being mercenaries. She has nowhere to go. She is too smart, which is why she won’t do anything that may potentially undermine the alliance.”

Christian nodded. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sleep tight,” Anfey said with a grin. “We’ll be busy tomorrow.” Christian nodded and hurried off. Kumaraghosha sent some of the men to go with Christian. The mercenaries like freedom, but a lot of the mercenaries had already gotten used to being guards.

Anfey went to his room and discovered to his surprised that the unicorn was lying in his bed, its head hanging low. Suzanna was sitting next to it and petting it.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Suzanna said, shaking her head. “I heard it stopped eating. They sent it back because they couldn’t take care of it anymore.”

They had left the unicorn at Stormenburg under Alice and Marino’s care because they couldn’t bring it along.

“Have you asked Hui Wei?”

Suzanna nodded. “He said it’s probably because it’s maturing. He said you should spend more time with it.”

Anfey sat down on the bed and stroked the unicorn’s head. The unicorn whimpered but did not do anything else.

“Let’s keep it close for a few days,” Anfey said. “We need to go to bed now. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.”

Suzanna nodded. She moved over to help Anfey take off his coat. When she saw the way he was looking at her, she jumped. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason,” Anfey said with a smile. He leaned over and pressed a kiss on Suzanna’s cheek. “Just thinking about how much I adore you.”