Chapter 502: One Man’s Fight

Anfey dashed along the road next to the mountain. He looked very dirty and his robes were bloodied and worn. Only his boots were still good as new. The boots were made from the skin of a manticore and were virtually indestructible.

He had already spent three days fighting with the griffin knights and the guardian knights. He didn’t have time to stop and sleep or eat for three days. There were very few people in the world who could have managed what he was doing.

Luckily for him, the Heart of Nature aided him in his endeavor. Because of the Heart of Nature, he was able to be more in sync with nature and use nature’s energy to support himself. Despite having the support of nature’s energy, he was still not in the best shape. He was tired, but he was still awake enough to keep his mind working.

The griffin knights were tougher than he had expected, which was why he hadn’t fought all of them head on. He resorted to ambushing them once in a while, then running before he could be surrounded. Another tactic he employed was keeping his distance and firing arrows or using magic. The griffins knights were very frustrated with him but couldn’t do anything because they could not find him.

Even though there were a lot of guardian knights and griffin knights and the few Anfey killed would not make a difference in the long run, it was still causing fear and frustration among the knights. Seeing their friends and companions dying was wearing down on the knights’ nerves. They were exasperated and were desperately trying to find Anfey.

Behind Anfey, a dozen dark specks appeared in the sky. In the middle of the formation flew Nahada, one of the commanders. Nahada had had a tough three days. At first, when he heard that Anfey was attacking the knights, he was very excited. Griffins were used to flying for a long time without losing speed. No human could compete with the griffins when it comes to stamina and speed. Even a swordsman could not keep using his combat power for too long.

He spent a whole day chasing Anfey to no avail. At the end of the day, his griffin only ate a small dinner and fell asleep, clearly exhausted. During the night, Anfey ambushed their campsite. Nahada’s men saw and reported everything to him. This planted a seed of doubt in Nahada’s heart.

On the second day, his attitude clearly changed. He stopped encouraging his soldiers and remained mostly quiet.

On the third day, he was very angry. One of his cousins died to protect him, and he was very angry. He clenched his teeth and was clearly trying to keep his temper in check.

Anfey jumped off of a boulder and turned left sharply.

“He’s going back!” Nahada’s deputy called. “Send the signal!”

The speed of a magic signal was much faster than Anfey, but the guardian knights ahead did not stop. They kept pressing on with their journey and did not even look up. The guardian knights were all well-trained soldiers, but they had seen too many warnings in the past three days, and they had become numb to the warnings.

Anfey rounded the hill and appeared. His speed increased, avoiding all the arrows from the griffin knights. He chased after the guardian knights, a storm of elements appearing around him.

“Allow me!” one of the guardian knights called when he spotted Anfey.

Several hundred knights left the main team. The knights turned around and rode towards Anfey. The knights had been avoiding direct conflict with Anfey for the past few days, but one of the leaders of the knights, Menkin, could not take this taunting any longer. He was one of the best knights in the world, but Anfey’s reputation preceded him. He didn’t believe in all the rumors, but he still couldn’t risk his own knights in a hopeless fight. Now he was only retaliating because of how frustrated he was being treated like prey.

Anfey was clearly faster than the griffins. A little over a minute later, he had already reached the guardian knights. He did not know anything about the guardian knights, but he could see Menkin’s combat power and knew he was a golden knight. As he approached the knights, Anfey waved his hands and summoned four firebirds.

The firebirds were very fast. This was Anfey’s way of testing the knights’ speed and the strength of their combat power. Only the best and the fastest could get out of the firebirds’ way in time.

The firebirds flew through the knights, turning a few into balls of fire. Anfey stopped where he was and turned around sharply, doubling back. He had three wounds on him because he had underestimated his opponents. He knew that he could have very well died on the first day if he hadn’t spent time practicing teleportation.

Anfey knew that he was powerful, but still not powerful enough to face so many guardian knights and griffin knights at the same time. He had been trying to delay the knights without actually engaging them.

Menkin didn’t care about the dying knights. His eyes were red and he increased his speed. He was much faster than his men.

By the time Anfey was ready to use magic, Menkin was already very close. He whispered a spell, and by the time he used another spell, Menkin had drawn even closer.

Nahada’s eyes widened. If he could stall Anfey for even just a moment, Menkin would catch up to him. He turned and waved his arms, then gripped the reins of his griffin and dove towards the ground. The other griffin knights fell into formation behind him and began their descent.

Anfey’s speed picked up again. The griffin knights’ arrows all missed their mark and hit the ground. Anfey jumped towards the first griffin knight without a moment of hesitation.

Nahada’s eyes widened. He saw Anfey drawing the magic sword again and remembered the serial lightning it could summon. He had lost more than a dozen knights to that sword and he couldn’t risk it again.

“Split up!” he called to the other knights. The griffins all began to flap their wings, trying to get back into the sky. The knights around him lost their formation. Some griffins were flying upwards, some were flying to the sides, trying to keep the distance between themselves and the other knights.

Surprisingly, nothing happened. Anfey passed by under the knights without using the sword. He did not want to engage the knights because he wanted to fight the leader of the griffin knights, not just the regular ones.

Chapter 503: Aid

Zhaji Mountain was about two hundred miles away from the Transverse Mountains. The Transverse Mountains were the largest mountain chain in the world, and had a lot of smaller mountains, like Zhaji Mountain, surrounding it. Zhaji Mountain was special, in that in order to reach the valley of the Transverse Mountains, one must go through Zhaji Mountain first. A single path ran through the Zhaji Mountains, and the path was surrounded by cliffs.

Anfey stood in the middle of the path, waiting for the arrival of the Guardian Knights. This was the place he picked to fight the incoming knights. The mountains limited the ability of the griffin knights, and he would not have to worry about them.

Anfey knew that this was his last chance to stall the Guardian Knights. The Zhaji Mountains’ geography meant that he did not have to defend himself from enemies from all sides, only the enemies in front of him.

Anfey closed his eyes and searched through the valley. He could sense the Guardian Knights’ scouts approaching the Zhaji Mountains. He frowned when he saw someone floating toward the Zhaji Mountains. Anfey did not know what Jacob was doing there, but he was glad to see a familiar face.

The scouts of the Guardian Knights approached very carefully. They would stop every few minutes to check that no one was waiting to ambush them. Compared to the knights, Jacob was much faster.

A few minutes later, Jacob appeared above the Zhaji Mountains. Seeing Anfey standing on the path, Jacob flew toward him, landing next to him.

“Lord Jacob,” Anfey said with a smile. “What are you doing here?” Jacob was Saul’s friend, and had helped him several times. Anfey had a lot of respect for the alchemist.

“So this is the place you picked,” Jacob said, glancing around. “Saul was worried about you. He can’t leave the army alone, so he asked me to come and check on you.”

“Where are they now?”

“Not sure,” Jacob said with a shrug.

“Not sure?” Anfey repeated, confused.

“I left them a long time ago,” Jacob said. “Maybe they’re already at Zagreen City? Like I’ve said. I don’t really know.”

“You left? Then how…” Anfey frowned and asked. If Jacob left early, then they should have met earlier as well.

“You want to fight them here, don’t you?” Jacob ignored Anfey’s question. “You don’t have to waste so much energy. Come with me.”

Anfey was a very cautious person, and knew when he should choose to trust someone. After a few seconds, he nodded. Jacob rose into the air and led him southward. To the south of was a large stretch of grassy plain. That was, in fact, the very reason why Anfey had chosen to ambush the knights here in the Zhaji Mountains.

After half an hour, Jacob stopped and landed next to Anfey. “Sensing anything?”

Anfey expanded his mind, searching through the area carefully. After a few minutes, he finally realized that a small piece of land, a few hundred feet away, was a bit strange. “You have a magic array here, my lord?” Anfey asked, surprised.

“You sensed it?” Jacob asked with a smile.

“I can’t sense any magic surges,” Anfey explained. “But it looks like someone had walked around there.”

“Good,” Jacob said. He turned toward the magic array with a frown and said, “Hopefully, they won’t notice.”

“There really is one?” Anfey asked. He was comforted by this knowledge.

Jacob nodded, still slightly concerned. “I can help you,” Anfey offered. He used the power of the Heart of Nature, and the quickened the growth of grass around the magic array. Quickly, all traces of the magic array disappeared.

“What magic array is it, my lord?”

“You’ll see,” Jacob said with a smug look on his face.

“So, my work for the past few days was meaningless,” Anfey said, shaking his head. Judging from Jacob’s look, he must have set up a very powerful magic array. One powerful magic array can achieve so much more than what Anfey can achieve in a day.

“It’s not,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t have time for that, if had it not been for you. You did not work in vain.”

“You know what I was doing, my lord?”

“Of course I do.”

“How?”

“I have friends,” Jacob said with a wink.

“Friends?”

“Mauso,” Jacob whispered. “He’s got good eyes. He saw what you were doing and told me about it.”

Anfey widened his eyes. He never thought someone was watching him when he was fighting those Shansa soldiers. The idea of being watched made him slightly uncomfortable.

“Don’t bother looking,” Jacob said, when he saw Anfey glancing around. “Mauso already left. He has his own business to take care of.”

Jacob paused, then found a few scrolls from his dimensional ring and handed them to Anfey.

“Serial lightning?”

Jacob nodded. “After the Totem of the Fire God is activated, we still need to drive them back into the Zhaji Mountains.”

Anfey nodded. He had read about the Totem of the Fire God before. He glanced at Jacob and asked, “Can that spell be used without an magic array?”

“It can be,” Jacob said. “But it’s hard because, you know, I’m not a mage. You want to learn how to set up magic array, don’t you?”

Anfey nodded. He was not surprised that Jacob figured out what he wanted to ask.

“You can ask Hagan too. I’ve already taught him everything I know,” Jacob said. “Of course, Saul is a better teacher than I am. His dimensional chaos magic array is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen.”

“I’ve seen Christian do that,” Anfey said. “It seems hard to get the timing right.”

“Saul is a wise man,” Jacob said. “He has made numerous changes to the magic array. You’ll find out if you ask him.” Jacob turned his gaze to the distance. “Get ready. They’re coming.”

Chapter 504: Luck

The guardian knights finally entered the Zhaji Mountains. This day was a very strange day to them, because no one had set off any alarms the entire day. This was simultaneously a relief, yet at the same time, caused stress among the knights.

Above the tight ranks of the guardian knights were the griffin knights. The griffin knights were much better scouts than normal soldiers, but too many griffin knights had been lost in the past few days. This forced the griffin knights to change their tactics and their formation. They stopped joining in on battles and were only responsible for setting off alarms. Unless Anfey chased after them, they would not go after him.

The griffin knights had a much better view of the sky than the knights on the ground. After the guardian knights entered the Zhaji Mountains, one of the griffin knights spotted two dark specks in the sky. Griffins were intelligent magic beasts, but they are were intelligent enough to communicate with humans. However, the griffins could recall Anfey. They recognized one of the dark specks and screeched to warn their riders.

“That’s Anfey!” one of the griffin knights called, setting off the alarm.

The two squads of griffin knights quickly changed their formation. They circled around, then turned to fly toward the opposite direction.

“Great,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “Now they’re spooked.”

Jacob was powerful enough to set up another magic array to conceal Anfey and himself, but he needed the Totem of Fire God to be as powerful as possible, and they needed to be discovered by the knights for that. Jacob was counting on the knights banding together in the face of a threat. Now they were too scattered.

The Totem of Fire God was a very special kind of forbidden spell. It was very powerful and almost nothing could protect a man from its effects. For anyone who was not a top level power, getting hit by a Totem of Fire God spell meant certain death. Even a top level power would be injured.

“Should I go and get them closer?”

“The Totem of Fire God won’t know the difference between friend and foe,” Jacob said. “Let’s wait.”

The scouts did not want to approach Anfey and Jacob, but they had an order. They approached him slowly and carefully.

“This is the only way,” Jacob said, seeing that some of the scouts and a few griffin knights were within range of the spell.

Jacob waved his hand, and suddenly, a fiery cloud appeared in the sky. The cloud formed into a fiery cyclone, swirling in the air. The cyclone burst into blinding light and divided into four smaller cyclones. At first, all four cyclones stayed close together, then the cyclones began spinning very fast before then pulling apart slowly. Meanwhile, the cyclones’ spinning speed was increasing as well.

The cyclones became so fast that their edges became blurred. The light became so blinding that it was impossible to look directly at the cyclones, and the lights made the four cyclones look like they were one, despite their distance from each other. Everything the cyclones touched–trees, armors, riders–was all turned into ash within a few seconds.

The cyclones were so hot, even the air around them became scorching in temperature. The grassy ground were turned into a burnt crisp, the forest around it was set on fire. The Totem of Fire God spell’s direct range of attack was very small, but its collateral damage was much larger than one would expect. Many of the scouts were on fire before they could even properly react.

In the distance, the knights summoned their combat power to protect themselves. However, their horses were not so lucky. After losing their horses, the knights did not hesitate in turning around and running away.

The Totem of the Fire God was a forbidden spell, and they knew Anfey couldn’t use forbidden spells. This meant that Anfey had brought someone who could use forbidden spells. It was impossible for common knights to fight against an archmage.

The scouts were the lucky ones. They were closer to Anfey, and so were out of the range of the forbidden spell. However, they couldn’t do anything because they did not want to provoke the archmage and Anfey. Their horses did not care for their riders’ fears and were desperate to get away.

“Well,” Jacob said. “My work here is done.” He found two scrolls from his dimensional ring and handed them to Anfey. “Use these well.”

“Teleportation?” Anfey’s eyes widened. The scrolls were very useful, even though he could teleport with his own magic. “Do you have any more?”

“Don’t be so greedy,” Jacob said. “This is all I have.”

“When will Hagan learn how to make serial lightning scrolls and teleportation scrolls?”

“He’s young, and so are you,” Jacob said. “Be patient.”

Anfey frowned and scratched his head. Unlike Ernest, Jacob almost never gave a clear answer.

“How long do I have to wait?” Anfey asked. “Ten years?”

“It’s better to use your own power than to use someone else’s,” Jacob said.

“You mean…”

“If you provide me the crystal, I can provide you with the scrolls,” Jacob said.

“Yes!” Anfey said with a wide smile. “I have more crystals than I can use.”

“I know,” Jacob said. “I know how many crystals your League is hiding. That’s why I asked.”

“I just got a whole lot of crystals from Shansa Empire,” Anfey said. “We’ll talk more after.” He jumped up and dashed toward the scouts. The scouts tried to get away from him, but he didn’t start his massacre immediately. The scouts didn’t know who was using the forbidden spell and did not want to rush into action.

Jacob watched from afar with a small smile. He had always been jealous of Saul for finding someone as talented as Anfey, but now he realized that he was wrong. Without Saul and Ernest, Anfey would have never trusted anyone. Without Saul’s students, Anfey would have never learned what friendship or family meant. Without Yolanthe and Burzuryano, he would have never achieved what he had achieved. It wasn’t Saul who was the lucky one. Anfey was the lucky one.

Chapter 505: Crimes

Despite rigorous planning, the possibility for the unexpected to occur was always possible. Scarlet had met with the Guardian Knights, but the Roaring Dead Legion had reached the Transverse Mountains faster than she expected.

The atmosphere in the tent was deeply oppressive. The leader of the Guardian Knights, Menkin, was standing quietly in front of Scarlet, unsure of how to explain his mistake.

After a few minutes, Scarlet sighed and shook her head. The abilities of a ruler could sometimes determine the success of his subjects. Scarlet knew that she did not lose to Baery or Anfey. It was her king who had lost.

Yolanther had top level powers and so did Edward the Eighth. However, Yolanther knew how to utilize the powerful people who served him much better than Edward the Eighth did. The only top level power Edward the Eighth sent to the Country of Mercenaries was Douminge, while Yolanther had sent almost all the top level powers under his control.

Douminge once served as the royal family’s mentor and was a good friend to the oldest prince and princess. Last year, Edward the Eighth wanted to marry the oldest princess off to the Country of Mercenaries but Douminge argued with him about it, after which Douminge quit being the mentor. After learning that the princess disappeared, Douminge swore that he would never serve Edward the Eighth again. Edward the Eighth learned that making the princess marry a mercenary was a bad idea. His actions had alienated Douminge.

Scarlet knew why Edward the Eighth was so stern on the matter, but that did not stop her from recruiting Douminge. Douminge liked her plans for the Shansa Empire and was willing to go with her to the Country of Mercenaries.

Douminge was the only top level power Scarlet was in control of. Even though the three dark knights she had were powerful, they were man made creatures created through alchemy and necromancy. It would not be hard to trick and destroy them.

Scarlet knew that the different between Edward the Eighth and Yolanther was that Yolanther knew how to utilize his resources. Because Edward the Eighth was not as skilled, she knew she would not receive help from his royal mages. Scarlet had control of the nation’s army, if she had the support the top level powers, it would be easy for her to overthrow Edward the Eighth. Even though Scarlet had no such plan, Edward the Eighth’s insecurities still made him worry.

The Guardian Knights suffered a defeat at Anfey’s hand because of Edward the Eighth. If he had sent his two top level mages, it would not have happened.

“This is my fault, general,” Menkin said with a sigh. “Please, you must punish me.”

“It’s not your fault,” Scarlet said, shaking her head. Menkin had made the right choice in retreating. If he died, the Guardian Knights would be without their leader.

“But at least we drove out the Maho army,” another commander said. “If we can control the magic crystals, we can wait it out.”

Scarlet shook her head. “This is not all of Yolanther’s power,” she said. She wanted to destroy the Roaring Dead Legion because she knew how dangerous it was. If she could manage to destroy the legion, it would take out a large part of the Maho Empire’s military power. If Yolanther turned his entire army on her, she would not be able to win the war.

“Then we should…”

“Go after them.”

“Go after them?”

“Baery has almost never lost,” Scarlet said. “If our informants are right, the defeat he suffered earlier by our hands made him question his abilities. We cannot allow him to recover. We have to take him out.”

The commanders glanced at each other in silence.

Not only was Scarlet frustrated with Edward the Eighth’s actions, she had a personal vendetta against Baery. If it wasn’t for him, her mother would still be alive. She turned to her commanders, eyes wide with rage. “Deliver this order to your men…”

—

Anfey and Jacob finally returned to the League. Anfey hurried to find Christian and asked, “What happened? Why did you retreat with the Roaring Dead Legion? What are you doing here? Where’s Alice?”

After the two successfully slowed the Guardian Knights, Anfey and Jacob originally planned to retreat into the Transverse Mountains. However, the two ran into a few druids and learned that the League went around Scarlet’s army and was heading north.

Anfey was shocked by this. He had planned for the League to leave because those remaining in the Country of Mercenaries would have only made things difficult for the League.

“I’m here,” Alice called. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t choose this.”

Anfey frowned and turned to Christian. They were the only people who had enough authority to change his plan.

“I received the order from my father,” Christian said. He retrieved a letter from his dimensional ring and handed it Anfey. He read through the letter and his eyes widened in shock.

“He gave us such an important job?”

“He gave it to us,” a voice said. Anfey turned around and Saul appeared with two dozen mages. The mages behind Saul were wearing expensive robes and were armed from head to toe. Anfey stared in shock as he recognized the royal mages.

Chapter 506: Advantage

Baery led the Roaring Death Legion and the Shield of Light Legion away from the battle and Scarlet took her army into the Transverse Mountains. The two were observing each other carefully.

Scarlet was a very smart and calculating woman. She sent out all the griffin knights as scouts and had them patrol the area nonstop. No matter what Baery tried to do, the griffin knights were alert. Scarlet knew the mercenaries were up to something, but her most important task right now was the finish off Baery.

The League relaxed after learning that Scarlet had entered the Transverse Mountains with her army. The mercenaries returned to Zagreen City to wait for further orders.

In the past, Anfey never really understood how powerful Saul was. When he lived with Saul, he did not see Saul engage in any of the activities the other nobles engaged in, like having a large number of guards.

This time, he quickly learned what it really meant to have Saul’s position. All the mages Saul brought with him were at least senior magisters, some were very close to becoming top level powers themselves. Without strength, no one could endure the strict training and fulfill the requirement to become a court mage. For a mage, becoming a royal mage was the highest honor. By becoming a court mage, a mage could even further improve his or her skills because working for the king could provide resources unaccessible otherwise.

Like the way Entos was known among the mercenaries, all the court mages were well-known figures before they started working for Yolanther.

The League’s mages all looked up to the court mages. They wanted to speak with the court mages, but did not want to offend anyone.

Despite how strong they were, the court mages were all very respectful towards Saul. This was just another way to show how well-loved and powerful Saul was.

It was no wonder the mage’s union rejected Phillip’s request for aid after Saul’s students fled Scared City. Phillip was powerful among the soldiers and the sword masters, but not the mages. No sensible mage would work against Saul. Dalmatian and Shawn’s betrayal showed that even Phillip’s closest students were abandoning him. He was losing power and could no longer stand against Saul.

Students were taught to respect and listen to their teacher, but they were also taught to have a mind of their own. Blindly following orders was foolish and was cautioned against. Anfey was in the wrong when he killed Zeda, but Zeda was not innocent either. It was Zeda who first forced his way into Saul’s residence and tried to harm Saul’s daughter, Niya.

Unlike Phillip, Saul would never show off anything in front of his students. Whenever he dined with his students, he would always act like their friends, not their mentor.

After the meal, the servants removed the empty dishes and left the room to allow them to talk more.

“Christian,” Saul said. “How are you lately? How are your studies?” Saul treated all of his students equally, but he paid more attention to the ones that were further ahead.

Christian shook his head. “I’m used to them,” he said. “I try to meditate whenever I can and I’ve learned a lot from actually using magic in real life.”

Saul nodded. “Good,” he said. “You are all very talented and should work harder. Look at Anfey. He started late, but he’s now the best out of all of you.”

“You can’t compare us with him, Master Saul,” Blavi complained. “He’s different.”

The other students laughed and agreed with him. In the past, the constant threat had made all the young mages too tense and too anxious for jokes. Now that Saul was here, the young mages had found a reason to relax.

Anfey’s advances in magic had happened so fast that there were only a few other people like him in the entire history of the world. Asking common mages to follow his example was asking way too much.

“I don’t think it’s just his talent,” Christian said. “We can’t have his talent, but we can learn his level-headedness. He never lets his emotions get in the way of his thinking. Remember how we reacted to those two sisters? Remember how he reacted?”

The young mages all fell quiet. It wasn’t just Christian. Everyone remembered the two sisters.

“What about the sisters?” Saul asked.

Christian quickly recounted the event to Saul. After listening to the tale, Saul smiled and glanced at Christian.

Most people did not know who Yolanther would have picked as his successor and that included Saul. However, Saul knew what kind of people Yolanther would have wanted to be in charge.

When Yolanther first took the throne, he tried to take power away from the nobilities and give power to the commoners. However, the noble class had been in power for too long and it was almost impossible to weaken it significantly. Yolanther always tried the best he could to maintain a balance between the power of the nobles and the power of the people.

Yolanther did not want a successor who would erase all of his hard work. He was less likely to choose a successor who was too entangled with the nobilities.

Saul knew Yolanther’s sons well. Wester was a sly man who had tried to garner as much power as possible without his father noticing. When Yolanther faked his death, Wester tried to befriend as many nobles as possible. Despite having good connections in Sacred City, he was the least likely candidate for the throne.

Grandon was once the most likely candidate. However, he had been showing off too much lately and that made Yolanther very uncomfortable.

That left Christian, who had been out of the fight for the throne since the beginning. Christian did not like the nobles and was an experienced leader. However, Christian did not want to sit on the throne. Saul knew Christian would be a good king, but he couldn’t do anything. Yolanther wouldn’t allow anyone to interfere with his decision-making. If Saul suggested he pick Christian, it would only lessen the possibility of Christian being picked.

Saul sighed and turned to Anfey. He needed to take his mind off of the topic of Yolanther’s successor. “Tell me something,” he said. “I want to know more about how you are able to attract elements.”

Chapter 507: Worries

Saul’s chants echoed throughout the night. Magic surges rippled around him.

Scarlet had left twenty thousand foot soldiers, and three thousand cavalry, before heading into the Transverse Mountains. The location was geographically important, as she had to plan for every outcome. Unfortunately, she did not take the appearance of Maho Empire’s royal mages into account. A bloodbath was bound to happen this night.

Saul’s chanting stopped. A ball of fog appeared in front of him, floating toward the army camp not far ahead. Saul had used a forbidden spell called the dimensional storm, which was one of the most powerful spellsThe fog floated toward the hill and was stopped when it reached them. The League’s mages watched with a mixture of excitement and reverence.

The fog moved on from the hill. To the fear and shock of the onlookers, the top of the hill had disappeared, as if gnawed away by a monster. The fog kept floating down toward the camp. Everything the fog touched disappeared. There was no blood and no screaming, only a huge, empty void.

Anfey nodded to Christian, who quickly released a magic signal. The League’s mercenaries quickly split into three groups, led by Anfey, Suzanna, and Anthony, then headed toward the camp.

The royal mages rose into the air, followed by the League’s mages. The sight of so many mages in the air was very impressive. If Baery was here, he would have wondered why Scarlet had left soldiers outside the Transverse Mountains. However, neither Anfey nor Saul were as proficient as Baery when it came to military strategies. This showed how confident Saul and Anfey were.

The dimensional storm had cleared a path for the mercenaries. However, because of the slow speed of the fog, the soldiers in the camp were able to get out of its way before it could reach them.

The commanders in the camp did not panic at the sight of the fog, and hence, were able to organize a defense force with clarity and efficiency. The foot soldiers in front lined up in tight ranks. Behind the soldiers were archers and knights. Behind them were the mages.

Anfey was the first to reach the camp. As soon as he set foot in the camp, the Shansa soldiers began their counterattack. Arrows rained down on Anfey, ands well as on the mercenaries behind him. Some of the archers were aiming at the mages as well.

Anfey expanded his mind to cover the entire battlefield. Many arrows flew true, striking the mages in the air and causing them to fall to the ground. The griffin knights rose into the air as well. There were many more mages, but the griffin knights were still able to attack the mages with efficiency with their crossbows.

To Anfey’s right, Anthony was dashing toward the Shansa soldiers. To Anfey’s surprise, Anthony stopped after the first round of arrows. An arrow pierced his combat power, planting itself in his shoulder, while another pierced his ankle. Normally, this would never happen. The mercenaries behind him were clearly shocked by this as well. They watched Anthony’s stumbling figure with wide eyes.

Saul and Jacob were shocked as well. However, it did not take long for them to figure out what had happened.

“Golman!”

“Deicide arrow!”

Jacob was one of the best alchemists in the world, but he knew that there was one person who was much more powerful than he was. Golman had been studying alchemy for centuries. Jacob knew how talented Golman was, and even if Jacob was naturally more talented, his ability would still always lag behind that of Golman.

Deicide arrows were powerful, anti-magic arrows. These arrows were even more powerful than the ones Jacob had crafted. Because of how powerful these deicide arrows were, when the supreme powers disappeared, the way to craft deicide arrows also disappeared. Jacob would have never expected Golman to find the way to make them.

Saul and Jacob were not military strategists, but they knew what Golman’s presence meant. The arrows had caused the death of several dozen mages in the blink of an eye. This meant that the Shansa army had a considerable amount of these arrows, and that Golman had been planning this for a long time. Golman had always been detached from mortal conflicts, but now he had given these deicide arrows to Scarlet’s army. What was he planning? Would he join the fight himself? Saul and Jacob watched the battle anxiously, questions swirling in their minds.

Anfey could not think as much as Saul and Jacob could. He needed to help the wounded. The arrows had already gotten to Anthony. If he didn’t do anything, Suzanna and Christian might be the next targets. Anfey searched through the battlefield and found two dozen archers who appeared to be different. Unlike the other archers, who were blindly releasing arrows, these archers were searching for targets.

A signal exploded in the sky, recalling the mages. Saul understood that the mages did not stand a chance against the griffin knights, and he wanted to minimize the loss. The royal mages could still fight, but the griffin knights had already gotten two of them. Saul did not want to lose any more.

Anthony, Anfey, and Suzanna were all targets. However, Anfey was confident enough in his ability to block any arrows coming his way. Suzanna was confident in her combat power. She was also wearing the Azure Armor, which effectively protected her against all incoming arrows. Deicide arrows may be powerful, but it could not pierce an armor like the Azure Armor. Anthony was also confident in his combat power, but he did not have any good armor like Suzanna. Because of this, he had to slow down in order to duck the arrows.

Chapter 508: Aid

Anfey jumped up and dashed towards the enemy ranks. He was not much faster than the incoming arrows, but before any of the arrows could hit him, he disappeared. The mercenaries behind him had to quickly raise their shields to defend themselves against the arrows.

Anfey reappeared much closer to the enemy soldiers. He kept pressing on through the hail of arrows without hesitation. Loose elements formed into a small storm around Anfey as he approached the Shansa men. The soldiers stood their ground and did not move. Nothing about the attack made them panic.

Anfey did not slow down to deal with the common soldiers. He suddenly disappeared again from where he was and teleported into the ranks of mages. He summoned his ax and swept it around his body, hitting several soldiers at the same time.

Before the soldiers could reform their ranks and attack, Anfey teleported again and reappeared among the archers. He retrieved his magic sword and held it aloft.

Dozens of lightning bolts appeared in the sky and rained down to the ground. The surrounding soldiers had to shield their eyes.

Almost half of all the archers were affected by the lightning. However, the archers Anfey wanted to eliminate seemed to be unaffected and were ready to strike.

Anfey hesitated for a second, then quickly reacted. He could feel that something was different about the archers. He summoned a magic scroll and tossed it at the archers. Another storm of lightning rained down from the sky. This time, none of the archers were spared.

Anfey waved his ax and swept away the flying arrows, then lunged towards the soldiers again. He did not want to clash with an actual army head-on because he knew that the soldiers had advantages the mercenaries did not. The mercenaries hadn’t been working together for a long time and Scarlet’s soldiers were all well-trained.

However, this was Saul’s idea, and Anfey had to support him.

The mercenaries clashed with the soldiers. The mercenaries had been training very hard, but it was hard to make them cooperate. The mercenaries’ movements lacked coordination and they clearly did not work well together. On the other hand, the Shansa soldiers were able to maintain their lines and follow orders quickly and in unison.

Common mercenaries tended to be stronger than common soldiers, but discipline gave the soldiers an edge over the mercenaries.

Normally, an army was led by a senior-level swordmaster or knight. As long as their commander was still alive, the soldiers knew what to do because a powerful figure was providing them with direction and assurance. Anfey was searching for the commander of this army because he knew from experience that an army wouldn’t last long without a commander. However, he could not detect anyone that could be the army’s commander. This was unusual and meant that the commander must be hiding somewhere that could block his power.

A horn was blown in the Shansa army’s camp. On a hill not far from the battlefield, a row of fences was lowered and half a dozen machines appeared.

The machines looked like large crossbows and each had a large arrow in it. The arrows were metal and larger than any Anfey had ever seen. Anfey’s eyes widened when he felt the powerful magic surges coming off of them. He quickly found a teleportation scroll and flew towards the hill.

Before Anfey could reach the hill, however, a ball of light flew towards the hill and crashed into the magic barrier around it. The barrier shattered, and a figure with a longsword appeared. The swordmaster crashed with the light, sending both of them flying in opposite directions. The swordmaster landed and stumbled backward but the light landed on the ground lightly.

Anfey could tell the man guarding the hill was at least a senior swordmaster. There were only a few people who could defeat a senior swordmaster this easily.

The light dispersed to reveal a large eagle. The eagle raised its large wings and flapped, creating strong gusts of wind that swept across the hill. Even the machine crossbows could not stand against winds this strong and swayed in the wind. The swordmaster and dozens of soldiers and mages were blown away.

The eagle raised its head and screeched. A few moments later, more eagles appeared through a cloud. The eagles lunged towards the griffins. Despite having a smaller number, the eagles were larger in size and faster in speed.

As the eagles surrounded the griffin knights, another group arrived to help. Miorich appeared from the Transverse Mountains. His combat power was brighter than any of the knights behind him and looked like a ball of flame on the ground.

The Shansa army was stationed there to keep an eye on the mercenaries and the League. The only defense the soldiers had set up against the Transverse Mountains was a long row of fences. Miorich raised his lance and crashed through the fence easily. The knights streamed onto the battlefield with the banner of the Maho Empire raised above them.

The swordmaster that was guarding the hill watched the arrival of the Maho knights with despair. The enemy outnumbered the Shansa soldiers and there was no point in fighting.

The swordmaster climbed off of the ground and ran into a tent. The tent was heavily guarded with a several dozen soldiers. The soldiers watched the swordmaster enter the tent without stopping him.

Inside the tent was a large table. On the table was a small crystal box. The swordmaster opened the box with shaking hands, revealing a metal disc. Hundreds of symbols were carved into the disc and a bright red magic crystal was set into the middle of the disc. The swordmaster closed his eyes and reached for it.

“Wait a second,” a voice said. The swordmaster opened his eyes and saw that someone had stabbed his wrist. The swordmaster groaned in pain and tried to hit the disc with his head. Before he could reach the disc, Anfey caught his shoulder and threw him to the ground. The swordmaster’s body jerked a few times and fell limp.

Anfey glanced at the crystal box and the disc inside. He did not know what it was or what it could do, but he could tell that it was dangerous from the way the swordmaster had acted around it.

Chapter 509: Waiting

The outcome of wars largely depended on the resources that the participating parties had available to them. Looking back at previous battles, Shansa Empire and Ellisen Empire had to act on their common interests to stop Maho Empire from overpowering them. This showed that the resources Maho Empire possessed far outranked those which the other two empires possessed.

In this battle, Yolanthe employed almost all the resources he had to fight against Scarlet. Except for the legion in the north border line, who still stayed to prevent Ellisen Empire from attempting to cross the border. Death Roaring Legion, Sacred City Palace Guards, Blackania City Border Guards, Shield of Light Legion and palace mages all came to the Cross Valley. Even bear druids and eagle druids came to help. For Ellisen Empire, even though Edward VIII tried his best, Ellisen Empire was much weaker than Maho Empire, in terms of military power.

Strategies employed in wars mainly relied upon military power and, secondarily, upon special strategies. Even though Scarlet did not fall into any traps, her military could not fight back against Maho Empire’s aggression, especially when Yolanthe had special forces employed in this battle. Yolanthe immediately figured that there was something fishy going on, and asked Miorich to lead Sacred City Palace Guards in traveling north on the same night, allocating all the craftsmen to Moramatch Town in order to rebuild the underground city with dwarves and gnomes. Those craftsmen also transported a large amount of supplies to the Cross Valley as they went.

Blackania City was a military town. A large number of craftsmen and apprentices, about 8,000 in total, had been working day and night for more than ten days. When Miorich came to Moramatch Town, the underground city looked completely different.

Of course, there was no man who was perfect, nor any perfect plan. Yolanthe had heard about the underground city. He meant to ask Miorich to hide in the underground city, along with Sacred City Palace guards, so that he could escape griffin riders’ reconnaissance, which would allow them to attack Scarlet in surprise. However, no one thought that the underground city could accommodate so many knights, especially when they all had horses. Horses took up more space than people. In addition, the supplies were also stocked in the underground city. Every part of the underground city was opened in order to accommodate them. The areas around the underground river were even remade into a few plains. Even so, the underground city still could only accommodate 13,000 knights, at most. Most Sacred City Palace Guards stayed in Blackania City.

Luckily, the League of Mercenaries was considered to be the resource of Maho Empire. In the original plan, Yolanthe did not want to have mercenaries from the League of Mercenaries involved. One reason for this was that Anfey and the League of Mercenaries had done so much, and made such great contributions, to Maho Empire already, so Yolanthe did not know how else he could reward Anfey. Even if Anfey did nothing at this moment, he had to give Anfey a new title that would be two steps higher than his current rank, at least. This speedy promotion shocked Yolanthe, who believed it was not good for any young man to get promoted in such rapid timing, because it could destroy him with inflated arrogance. However, fate had placed Anfey and the League of Mercenaries in this exact critical moment. They needed to take control of the exit of the Cross Valley, cut off the path which Scarlet wanted to retreat through, and chase after the Shansa Empire military.

There was a story about druids joining Yolanthe. The bear ear druid king, Bruzuryano, was a good friend of Saul, and as he knew about Yolanthe, he was firmly on Maho Empire’s side. Wolf druid king Manstuly had been wanting to recover the glory of the druids. He was invited by Bruzuryano to see Yolanthe in Sacred City, but he came with sinister motives. Eagle druids king Mauso had been holding a neutral stand. He did not want to be involved in this conflict, and did not agree with Bruzuryano. At the same time, he had a clear vision for the druids. He thought the glory of elves would not be recovered, and he was against Manstuly’s paranoia.

Manstuly asked the eagle druids to chase and kill Suzanna collectively. Mauso did not like Manstuly’s idea. As an “observer”, Mauso’s intelligence was as good as his visions. He immediately saw Manstuly’s real intentions, knowing that Manstuly only wanted to drag him down into the water. Back then, the reasons Manstuly had for this desire was that Anfey had been hostile toward druids—even having publicly attacked their temple and killed over ten druids there. He told Mauso that Anfey was cruel and perverted, and that he had raped beautiful elves. Manstuly even sent victims of Anfey to the eagle druids’ station, hoping that would make Mauso angry.

The positive consequence of this was that Anfey saved many human slaves, and even a few elves, when he tried to save Alice. Later, Anfey sent those elves to Tiger Tawau mercenary group, asking them to seek help from Hotchbini. Those elves became Anfey’s “victims”. These victims described Anfey’s vicious acts with a sad tone, telling stories of how Anfey had used hot iron on victims’ bodies, pulling their teeth and hair out, even raping elves and sharing them with his mercenaries. Those victims showed their wounds and explained how Anfey inflicted each upon them. Mauso found that more than a few victims looked uneasy. He found an opportunity to speak with them in private. After talking to them, these victims cried out loud at first, and then told the truth to Mauso, revealing that Anfey did not actually rape them. Rather, it was Manstuly’s druids who had raped them. All of these assaults were arranged by Manstuly and elf pharaohs. They were forced to lie about their virginity, as a virgin would not be Anfey’s victim. At the end, they even sworn with their lives that Anfey was a good man.

Mauso did not believe in Manstuly anyway. After he heard the truth, he doubted Manstuly even more. He went to see Bruzuryano, who was furious after he heard what had happened. He scolded Manstuly for his dishonesty and transgressions. He told Mauso that Anfey had connected with Heart of Nature, becoming the new messenger for the god.

This was why Mauso agreed to help Manstuly, but secretly protected Suzanna. When he noticed Suzanna was at the verge of breaking through, he fought with Suzanna day and night to help Suzanna become a new top power.

Usually, Mauso would retreat to his tranquil life at this point, because he disliked conflict and fighting. After Suzanna survived, a few elf pharaohs came to the eagle druids’ station and blamed Mauso for going against his promise, then they asked him to take all the responsibilities for their lost. Mauso became enraged. When elf empire was at its peak, druids were just vassals of elves. In fact, druids were humans who believed in the Goddess of Nature. The number of elves was not great back then. They needed humans to manage the world. Druids were the best bet. After elf empire withered, druids and elves transformed into friends from vassals. How could those few elf pharaohs have dared to curse and scold Mauso in the eagle druids’ station, treating druids as their servants?

Mauso had grown very sophisticated. He never lost his temper in front of others, because he believed that actions spoke louder than words. After he agreed to the elves’ requests and sent away the elf pharaohs, Mauso turned around to see Bruzuryano. They both immediately agreed to help with the battle, as the battle was about to break out.

With Mauso’s help, the griffin riders were constrained. Griffin riders relied on their flexibility and flying abilities to for surveillance. Eagle druids were better in both these areas. In fact, with Mauso’s help, Anfey’s league became much stronger. Scarlet had sent griffin riders out to scout Cross Valley, in order to prevent Maho Empire’s attacks, which gave eagle druids a perfect stage to show off their skills. Eagle druids went out together and attacked griffin riders in squads or squadrons, killing messengers and attacking small groups of soldiers. When they met a large group of soldiers, they were able to report the exact number in that group. After the valley exit was taken over, Scarlet lost communication with Edward VIII.

The soldiers who guarded the exit of the valley knew that Scarlet would try her best to fight back at any cost, especially if Scarlet discovered that her communication path was cut off. On the other hand, Baery would chase after Scarlet at any cost. This was a game of big fish eating small fish, while small fish ate shrimp. After the big fish ate the small fish, the shrimp would protect itself well with all it had.

Capable people usually took on more responsibilities. Saul was the busiest. He ran around to set up magic arrays as fast as he could. In the skirmishes, no mages had time to set up gigantic magic arrays, but in the positional warfare, magic arrays were necessary, especially when Saul could still join the battle after the magic array began. It was like having extra help from a top power.

Jacob was busy as well. He was not only the assistant to Saul, but also did research on deicide arrows and bed crossbow-like weapons. Scarlet calculated very well. She even had a plan B to enact if the whole station was taken over. There was a gigantic Blasting magic array. Once the magic array was triggered, the whole station would be submerged in lava. Very few people knew about this array. If soldiers found out about it, it would hurt Scarlet’s reputation. No one wanted to be deserted. Once the magic array started, lava could not only cover the whole station, but also kill all of them. Unfortunately, the only general who knew about the magic array had become Anfey’s target, so Scarlet’s plan failed miserably.

Jacob had dissembled the magic array and spent most of his time on the magic weapons which Golman created. He knew how amazing people were in the ancient times via reading. But when the real objects were in front of him, it became a different story.

When Anfey discovered that the magic array Saul set up was the same Magic Array of Space Chaos that Jacob loved, Anfey became interested in it. He wanted to take the chance to learn more about the Magic Array of Space Chaos. Anfey gave up this quest for learning after hanging out with Saul for just one day. In fact, Anfey’s short-term memory was very good, but short-term memory had a drawback, which was that Anfey could only remember the things he had experienced before. For example, no matter how messy the room was, newspapers, cigarette wrappers, cigarette butts, slippers, tea cups and other stuff was scattered everywhere on the floor. If Anfey took one look at them, he could tell the exact location of each object if asked about where that specific object was. It was like he had a camera in his head and took a picture of the scene. However, those objects were manmade, and Anfey had seen them or something similar to them. Magic notes were different, and very complicated. They were like a new language to Anfey, so obviously, it was not a good time for language learning at this very moment.

Chapter 510: Chaos

“General, Baery has launched an attack!” a soldier hurried into Scarlet’s tent and reported.

Scarlet frowned. She was surprised by Baery’s attack, but she was glad as well. She had been waiting for this moment for too long.

By the time the news reached Scarlet, Baery’s army was already heading towards her camp. The knights rode in tight formation, their lances gleaming under the sunlight. The sound of hooves beating against the ground echoed in the valley.

Menkin watched the enemies with a deep frown. He was the one who had requested this position in today’s battle. Unfortunately for him, he would be the first to encounter the enemy knights. The valley was not an ideal battleground for knights and he wasn’t certain what Baery and Miorich’s plan was.

He didn’t have time to think too much. He raised his lance and bellowed, “Let us show them who the real knights are!” His bellow was loud and clear to the Shansa soldiers. The soldiers raised their weapons and charged.

The Sacred City Knights and the Guardian Knights had very different reputations. The Sacred City Knights were well known because of how much Yolanther relied on them. Guardian Knights, on the other hand, rarely participated in battles because Edward the Eighth never allowed them to participate in battles. Menkin was hoping to change their reputation.

Even though the Sacred City Knights attacked first, Menkin and his men were still fast enough to match their speed. The two sides clashed amidst battle cries.

“It’s the Sacred City Knights?” Scarlet asked, her frown deepening. She had multiple plans in place to deal with unexpected events. Now, she realized that situation did not only put the Shansa army at a disadvantage, but it also put the Maho army at a disadvantage.

Instead of fighting with the Guardian Knights, the Sacred City Knights seemed more keen on penetrating their enemy’s formation. Because of the location, the majority of Scarlet’s army was deeper in the Transverse Mountains. Penetrating an army’s ranks would cause panic among the soldiers, but that tactic was impossible here.

With the arrival of the Maho Empire’s mages, the battle quickly devolved into chaos due to the limitation of the location of the battlefield. The knights had lost their formation and lost one of their biggest strengths– speed. Each knight was surrounded by both friends and foes. Most had already lost their horses and some had even lost their lances. The knights that had lost their lances and swords resorted to fistfighting.

The chaos was strange for both the Sacred City Knights and the Guardian Knights. The Sacred City Knights had been prepared for a battle like this, but the Guardian Knights were completely dumbfounded. They were fighting purely because of their instincts.

The Maho Empire’s mages had stopped their attack. Scarlet walked out of the camp to observe the battle. Behind her were dozens of large machines, waiting for her orders. She was hesitant because she knew that if she gave the order, she would be sentencing her own soldiers to death as well.

The battle grew even more chaotic when the foot soldiers joined the fight. The battlefield had expanded from the valley to the cliffs above.

Scarlet watched in silence, her body growing cold. She never thought Baery would go for a plan as mad as this one and she could not understand why he did this. Neither side had control over the battle at this point.

Usually, a general would try to eliminate as many enemies as possible while losing as little men as possible. This battle, however, was the work of a madman. Baery was trying to eliminate her army no matter how much it would cost him.

Scarlet sighed. Her mother once said that unlike his peers, Baery was a madman. Now, Scarlet knew exactly why her mother had referred to him as such.

On the other side of the battlefield, Baery observed the battle through the Eye of the Sky. He pointed at one of the knights and said, “That is Menkin. Steger, we cannot let him group his men together.”

Menkin was a seasoned fighter and knew how bad the situation was. He was trying very hard to group together his knights, but every attempt was interrupted by the Sacred City Knights.

“I’ll take care of it,” Steger said with a nod. “Baery, Saul warmed us. Scarlet still has the magic arrows. What shall we do if she decides to use them?” If Scarlet decided to use the arrows, it would be the end of both the Sacred City Knights and the Guardian Knights.

“She won’t,” Baery said.

“How do you know?”

“She’s too young,” Baery said. “The Guardian Knights are too important. She wouldn’t do anything to actively harm or destroy them. Plus, most of the Guardian Knights are children of nobles. She still needs the support of those nobles.”

“The same thing goes for the Sacred City Knights,” Steger said. “If she uses the arrows, she won’t be the only one losing the support of the noble class. Are you sure you will win?”

Baery nodded. “Her army is exhausted. Mine is well-rested. We have an advantage. Plus, our men know what will happen. We just need to wear them out.”

“You seem very certain.”

“Don’t worry, old chap,” Baery said. “I’m excited to see how Scarlet will react to this.”