Chapter 511: Cruel Arts

An uncontrollable battle did not stop with a closure until late that night. In fact, Scarlet had decided to ask the soldiers to leave the battle at dusk. She did not want to be as crazy as Baery, who had seemed to realize something at the same time, so he gave the same order to his own military. However, neither party left the battlefield until late that night, which obviously showed what chaos there was on the battlefield.

Scarlet was good at employing different strategies to minimize her loss in battles. In Golman’s world, she even had a history of winning battles with zero fatalities. However, once she was in real battles, she did not seem to have the control and management skills as did Baery. Baery had been trying to make the battlefield more chaotic, while Scarlet tried to keep it in order. The reality proved that Baery won, just as he had wished. Scarlet had been putting reserves on the battlefield in hopes of stopping the soldiers from feeling discouraged and losing the battle. If this were all Scarlet could do, any general could have done it. In other words, Scarlet had not been able to show anything special that she could do.

Scarlet had seen dead bodies before, but never so many. The trees in the valleys surrounding the battlefield had been destroyed. Bodies were everywhere, from the peak of the mountains to the bottom of the valley. Bodies piled on bodies, along the valley road, which was over 10 miles long. Some areas even had hills of dead bodies piled up. With the bright moonlight, Scarlet could clearly see everything.

Both parties sent out thousands of soldiers without weapons. Their job was to clean up the battlefield, move their peers’ bodies, and save any survivors who were still mingled with the dead bodies. The craziness during the day had now gone. When soldiers from both parties met, they did not even care to look upon one another. Rather, they passed by each other without any facial expressions. There was an unwritten rule that soldiers cleaning the battlefield could not be attacked. It would not be good if anyone went against these rules.

The valley road had become a swamp, a murky situation created by the blood and flesh of humans and horses. Usually, blood dried quickly, but the power of nature did not seem to be enough, not when there was so much blood. There were dead bodies everywhere on the mountains, the blood of which trickled down to the bottom of the valley like streams, turning the whole valley into a bloody hell. Every step the soldiers took, there were squeaking sounds underneath their feet. It was easy for them to stumble on an arm, or to accidentally kick a head. The sounds of kicking or breaking an arm were always scary. The moaning from people, who woke up from the coma or screamed from the pain, were not the most scary sounds. The most scary part was the thought that the dead bodies could get up with the screams, if those soldiers accidentally stepped on them. Soldiers felt that even their souls were scared.

There was also a weird stinky smell in the valley. It was disgusting. A doctor told Anfey before that human’s blood and flesh would not rot quickly. The weird stinky smell that lingered on the battlefield was from the not-digested food, or waste, left over after people’s intestines were attacked. Of course, it did not matter that they were the soldiers from Maho Empire or Shansa Empire, they would not understand about anatomy. They only knew this was a hell for them. They wanted to throw up and run away. They wanted to scream with all the strength they had. They would rather be unconscious at this moment. However, they had to complete their job before any of those things happened. Otherwise, they would become part of this hell. Military law would not allow them to escape.

Was this one type of art? Scarlet remembered Golman used to tell her often that wars were a type of art. Seeing this bloody hell, Scarlet wanted to adapt Goldman’s saying. If wars were a type of art, they must be the most vicious and cruel art that human intelligence had ever created. However, Scarlet still had to get revenge upon Anfey. She had done so much, and had taken in so much, that she had to kill the murderers of her mom by herself. She would enjoy it, or at least take anything that benefited her, no matter how vicious or cruel they were.

Scarlet walked to her tent with heavy legs. She knew well that today’s battle had hit the Shansa Empire soldiers’ morale hard. These soldiers held ambitions of building their careers and making contributions to their country as they chased after Baery’s military. They did not know that Baery would give them a taste of what hell could be like. It was unknown just how many of them were scared. At this moment, the key was not to encourage the soldiers tonight, but to think about what they could do tomorrow. If Baery wanted to continue to fight with her, would she fight? The military resources of the Maho Empire were far superior to Scarlet’s. If she had to fight with all she had, all the soldiers would die in about ten days.

Scarlet had headaches. It was like a swordsman, who was not confident with his sword skills, was being challenged by a barbarian. When the fight started, the judge suddenly made a new rule that the two participants could only fight with fists. One could give a strike first, while the other one could fight back with another strike. If the fight continued without any strategies involved, the loser would be the one who fell down first. Scarlet felt that she was that helpless swordsman.

The air in Scarlet’s tent was filled with tension. Menkin had blood on his face. He sat on the chair without saying anything. Today’s battle had left the guardian knights with high casualties. Over two fifths of the soldiers were either hurt or died in the battle. Before the battle started, many old men, whom he rarely saw, came to see him and asked politely, hoping Menkin could take care of their sons or nephews. However, on the chaotic battlefield, where generals could not see their soldiers—and vice versa—he could take care of no one. He was scared of estimating how many soldiers had died. He subconsciously knew that he would not be a commander anymore, no matter whether he won or lost this battle.

Scarlet walked to her seat and slowly sat. She cleared her throat before speaking. Suddenly, griffin screaming was heard from outside of the tent, and a gust of chilly wind passed by. Obviously, a griffin had tried to land outside the tent. The griffin rider pushed away the soldiers at the tent door before he could report to Scarlet. The rider rushed into the tent, “General, Miorich-led royal palace guards attacked the exit of the valley. The mercenaries of the League of Mercenaries surrounded us.”

Scarlet was stunned. Menkin jumped up from his seat out, enraged, and shouted:”Bullshit! We had a fight with Sacred City palace guards today. It could not be them. Are they ghosts?”

“Miorich, Miorich has not showed up yet,” A general said with a trembling voice.

It became deadly quiet in the tent. He was right that Miorich had not shown up yet. If he showed up, the casualties of guardian guards would be higher. What made them feel lucky before, now became their nightmare. If it were possible, they wished they had heard wrong. If Miorich showed up on the battlefield during the day, he could have wiped out the entire guardian guards.

“Are you sure the information you received is right?” Scarlet asked in a low pitch. Her voice was trembling a bit.

“Yes, I am sure,” the griffin rider said with a sad face. “General, do you remember how many days it has been since we have not yet received information from Blackwater City?”

“What did your griffin riders do?” Menkin yelled. “Why did not you send people to scout?”

“Master Menkin, I sent many griffin riders over, but eagle druids have been working for the Maho Empire. No matter how many griffin riders I sent out, they would disappear. I did not find that the exit of the Cross Valley was taken over by them until I took a squad of griffin riders with me to check it out.”

“Did the terrain around the valley exit look normal?” Scarlet asked slowly.

“Normal? General? I do not get what you mean,” the griffin rider asked.

“I mean, did the valley exit have any magic explosion?” Scarlet asked.

“No,” the griffin rider answered.

Scarlet punched her fists down heavily on the table, causing it to suddenly collapse and resulting in everything upon it to fall on the floor, scattering everywhere. The faces of the generals in the tent changed. They had never seen Scarlet lose her control.

“Are you sure the valley exit did not look like it had exploded before?” Scarlet asked again.

She needed to double-check, because she needed to know if her trump card, the magic weapon, was under the control of Miorich and Anfey.

“No, there was no explosion, general,” the griffin rider said.

“General, what should we do?” a general asked at the top of his voice. When things came to this point, the strategic intent from the Maho Empire had become obvious. Maho Empire wanted to lure them to the Cross Valley to wipe out the main force of Shansa Empire with a flank attack.

Everyone looked at Scarlet, hoping she had an answer for them.

The chief commander’s tent in Maho Empire was not as busy as Scarlet’s. There were only two people in the tent: one was Baery, while the other was Stegar. Stegar casually tossed a mail on the table and said with a low pitch, “Saul said Scarlet should have known that valley exit is under our control now, especially after those few griffin riders escaped. It will take him some more time to set up the magic array. He asked you to…”

“I got it. I will buy him some time. I have tried my best today,” Baery said with a smile.

“Today?” Stegar rolled his eyes. “Not to mention that Scarlet has known that the valley exit fell into our hands, even she did not know about it, you would have already scared her away.”

“You are not as good as me in terms of that,” Baery smiled. “Many people think the military maneuvers could be so different—hard to predict and understand—but I think it was all about human nature. Scarlet only knew about military maneuvers, but she do not understand human nature. She is still a young girl. Her understanding of wars is limited.”

“Hehehe, I wonder who lost the battle to that little girl at the One-Line-Sky,” Stegar said.

“This is the advantage I have, but Scarlet does not.” Baery was not mad at all. “I can lose battles, but Scarlet could not. If she lost one battle, she would lose everything.”

“Don’t trump it up. Saul reminded us many times, asking us to be careful about Golman,” Stegar said slowly.

“Golman.” Baery repeated in confirmation, frowning.

Chapter 512: Destiny

Scarlet finally reached the mouth of the valley with her army. Unfortunately, Saul had already laid out his trap.

If Scarlet were a coward who was frightened by Baery’s madness, or if she lost confidence after learning she had lost the mouth of the valley and fled, she would have survived. The magic array Saul set up had a time limit and Miorich’s men would not have been able to defeat her if she were to flee.

However, Scarlet was not a coward. On the contrary, she was a defiant and proud woman. Even though she knew she was walking into a trap, she was still very calm and collected. Scarlet always liked a good challenge. Even now, she was still governing her army with discipline. She was hoping to preserve as many fighters as possible and take them back to the Shansa Empire.

Both Scarlet and her soldiers thought she was right. Except for the first battle’s chaos, no one could defeat Scarlet or mess up her strategy.

What she did not know was that the longer she remained in the mountains, the more danger she was in. The sky was off limits to her because of Mauso and his druids. No griffin knights could have reached her.

One of the griffin knights’ squad leaders suspected something and tried to reach her. He took some of his best men and flew around the druids and approached the valley from behind. Even Miorich did not foresee this. The druids tried to take out all the griffins, but even though the druids had an advantage, some of the griffin knights were still able to get away. However, because of their approach, the griffin knights did not find out that Saul had set up a trap.

Scarlet had an alternate plan. She could have separated her forces and attacked the mouth of the valley with half of her men. However, she was taught from a young age that she should not depend on anyone but herself. She couldn’t trust anyone’s ability except for herself. If she led the attack on the mouth of the valley, she was afraid that Baery’s people would have attacked her from behind. If she stayed behind, she worried that the other army wouldn’t be able to take on Miorich’s men.

It was truly sad and unfortunate that a coward survived but a brilliant soldier like Scarlet lost.

Saul activated the magic array as the Shansa knights approached the mouth of the valley. Anfey watched the magic array carefully. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Even though the magic array did not look like it was doing much, every time Anfey tried to probe it with his mind, he felt an acute pain. He was surprised and wasn’t sure what was causing it.

When the first knight stepped into the magic array, his body was instantly cut into pieces. The broken pieces of his body floated around in it and disappeared. After over two hundred knights disappeared in the magic array, the knights that came later tried to ride around it to avoid it. However, its range was very large. Even if they tried to ride on the cliffside, they were still within it.

Two mages appeared behind the knights. One released a large fireball and the other summoned a bolt of lightning. The lightning struck the magic array and, like the knights, was sliced into tiny chunks. The fireball was sliced up as well, and the remnants of the two spells floated within it, then disappeared.

The two mages and the remaining knights watched this for a few moments then turned to head the other way. They were just scouts that were sent to investigate the magic surges. Saul watched them leave without doing anything.

Saul was waiting for Scarlet’s reaction and Scarlet was discussing what to do with her officers. A few moments later, a fiery arrow appeared. It streaked through the air and crashed into the magic array.

The magic arrow was very powerful, but it was still no match for a magic array made with dimensional magic. Like the fireball and the lightning bolt, the magic arrow was sliced into tiny pieces and disappeared into it.

After a few seconds of silence, dark shadows appeared above the Shansa army. About a dozen griffin knights flew before the main body of the army. These were the scouts sent out to test the limit of the magic array.

The griffin knights soon reached the magic array. Having seen that they flew by without a problem, the main body of griffin knights picked up their speed and followed. However, they weren’t eager to attack.

Saul turned to Anfey and nodded. Anfey nodded in return. He used a levitation spell and rose into the air, streaking towards the griffin knights.

Mauso was speaking with Suzanna. Suzanna already knew that Mauso fought with her that day because he wanted to help her and she was very thankful. Seeing Anfey rise into the air, she turned her gaze away from Mauso and watched him. Mauso stepped forward and rose into the air, transforming into a large eagle. He flapped his wings and approached Anfey.

Dozens of magic arrows rose from the Shansa camp. The arrows flew over the magic array and towards Saul’s camp.

Mauso lowered himself. “Be careful,” he croaked. Anfey landed on Mauso’s back. He took a deep breath and nodded.

Golman was a very powerful alchemist. Luckily, Jacob knew Golman well and Anfey reached the general who was responsible for setting off the bomb in time. Otherwise, Scarlet’s attack would have done a great deal of damage.

The griffin knights clearly knew Anfey and Mauso’s intentions. They flew towards the two, sending dozens of arrows flying togethers them.

“Scarlet must have already depleted Golman’s supplies,” Mauso said with a laugh. He dodged the incoming arrows easily.

“I have a bad feeling,” Anfey said with a frown. He had trained with Mauso many times and could remain standing on Mauso’s back without any problems.

“What is it?” Mauso asked.

Chapter 513: Fight

“I cannot explain it in words, and we do not have time to think too much about it.” Anfey released magic as he answered. Three Firebirds shot out from the tips of his fingers. He did not care about the griffin riders who kept shooting with their crossbows. His job was to take care of the gigantic arrows which could cause great damage.

Anfey was flying in the air at high speed, while the speed of the gigantic arrows were almost as fast as him. The three Firebirds Anfey had released hit on a water-blue gigantic arrow, one after another. The second Firebird accurately hit on the concave on the arrow, where there was a water-blue magic crystal. With a huge crashing sound, that arrow shone a very bright blue light. Circular shockwaves created visible boundaries in the air. The boundaries continued to expand. A griffin and its griffin rider, who dived accidentally, fell into the shockwaves. They immediately turned into ice sculptures, falling on the ground like heavy rocks. This tragedy did not end yet. The ice sculpture, again, accidentally, fell into the Magic Array of Chaos and was cut into millions of pieces. It seemed that they had never existed before, and they completely disappeared in the magic array.

Those griffin riders were stunned when they saw that Anfey was able to destroy magic weapons. They shot out cross bows, as they rushed maniacally toward Anfey. Unfortunately, Anfey’s magic attacks were a little off from the target he had locked with his telepathy, even though Anfey already had very strong telepathy. That was why he had released three Firebirds in a row. The threats from cross bows were very limited, especially when Mauso’s flying speed was super fast, and he flew at every direction, without any patterns. Anfey did not have to spare any effort to block the crossbows that griffin riders shot out.

With a tense magic surge, a gigantic ice dragon formed after Anfey released the magic scroll. The ice dragon flew viciously at the gigantic arrow. Anfey took out his bow and targeted a silver-white gigantic arrow.

A black light flashed, and shot out with such an unbelievable speed that no one saw where this black light hit. They saw that the silver-white gigantic arrow had suddenly exploded. Lightening shot out like crazy. When the water-blue gigantic arrow exploded, it did not affect others, due to the location of explosion, but this silver-white arrow knocked off a red gigantic arrow that was ahead of it. The ice dragon, who flew at the red arrow, passed by its target because of this.

Anfey did not expect this to happen. Luckily, the ice dragon had some intelligence, even though it was a magic organism. The body of the ice dragon was much bigger than the gigantic arrow. The ice dragon swirled around it, opening its mouth wide, and swallowing that red arrow down.

The ice dragon was pure white before, but after it swallowed the arrow, its stomach turned red. With a huge boom, the ice dragon exploded into thousands of pieces that splashed everywhere.

The drama beats from the Shansa Empire military suddenly grew tenser. Griffin riders paused for a second, before running over to surround Anfey.

“It looks like they are fighting for their lives now.” Mauso circled a half-round before he lowered his height into the air.

“Do you think we got anybody?” Anfey smiled. He waved his hand and released four Firebirds. This had reached his limit. Firebirds flew at a water-blue gigantic arrow with a super fast speed.

Gigantic eagles flew up into the sky above the valley exit. They fearlessly flew at the griffin riders. No matter whether they were regular arrows or deicide arrows, they could barely hurt gigantic eagles. The feathers on the gigantic eagle bodies were soft but resistant, their muscles were as hard as steel. This was not the effect of magic, but of eagle druids themselves.

About eight palace mages flew into the sky, along with the mage group from the League of Mercenaries, who were behind gigantic eagles. The mage group from the League of Mercenaries was pumped, and their courage showed, as they were able to fight with their idols. They tried their best to release magic at the gigantic arrows, which were actually flying closer and closer to them. Their abilities to lock targets with their telepathy were far from Anfey’s, but they could definitely get their targets when dozens of people attacked one target altogether.

“Your people? I hope you could really treat them as your people,” Mauso said with a smile.

“Don’t worry.” Anfey knew how to read between the lines. Mauso wished Anfey could take care of the druids more. Since Mauso had led his people to fight for Yolanthe, Mauso must believe in the future of the Maho Empire. Yolanthe liked and trusted Anfey, so much so that Anfey would be sure to have a good future ahead of him. Mauso showed his kindness to Anfey, but it did not mean that he tried to gravel at his feet. If he could provide opportunities to his druids to live a better life, why would he turn it down, especially since it had cost them so much up to this point.

Half of the magic arrows that Scarlet shot out were destroyed. Even though few arrows hit their targets, the damage was not great. Some knights and mercenaries were affected by the explosion. One arrow hit an area with a large number of mercenaries. The flames immediately swallowed hundreds of them. Only Shinbela was barely able to rush out of the explosion with almost no clothes on. She got black ashes everywhere, while the rest of the mercenaries had been burnt into charcoal.

Griffin riders fought together with many gigantic eagles. Scarlet had sent out all the griffin riders. In terms of numbers, they had the advantage, but no advantage in other areas. This was just a simple physical fight in the air, the type of which only happened a long time ago. It did not matter whether they were druids or griffin riders, they both lacked training, so only courage would determine which party would win.

Griffin riders were excellent in terms of courage. When they heard Scarlet’s order, not one mentioned fighting with gigantic eagles, and they even suppressed their fear of Anfey and tried to surround him. Griffins were just magic beasts, so they did not act as brave as those griffin riders. Magic beasts’ natures of avoiding dangers was stronger than their passions for fighting, when they were faced with gigantic eagles who were a lot stronger than them, especially when the numbers of gigantic eagles were so large. Magic beasts did not know how to count, so they had no idea if their peers were greater than their enemies. As a result, the griffins dodged to the side with screams when the griffin riders waved their knight spears in order to give them orders to start attacks.

The mages in the League of Mercenaries seemed to find their new targets. It was not hard to do, once they saw griffin riders running toward them in a large group. All they needed was to release magic at them.

This fight in the sky was massive. The griffin riders and gigantic eagles’ bodies seemed to block the whole sky. Countless feathers and snowflakes fell from the sky. Some griffin riders and gigantic eagles lost their flying abilities and fell from the sky, one after another. Many mages were hit by cross bows, but not one backed out. To be more specific, only magic beasts were a little antsy. All other intelligences were very brave.

As Anfey was about to join the battle, a very intense magic surge appeared from the Shansa Empire military. Anfey was shocked for a second. He had become quite familiar with Forbidden Spells. “This must be someone releasing Forbidden Spells. Could it be Douminge?” Anfey thought to himself.

If this happened in other times, it must have caused panic among people, as they sensed the magic surges of Forbidden Spells, yet it did not at this moment, since griffin riders and druids were like dogs eating dogs. Even the mages in the League of Mercenaries did not care about risking their lives. They just kept releasing magic.

When the fight in the sky got bloodier and bloodier, a swirl appeared above the station. Every time the swirl circled around, it expanded in size. In the center of the swirl, a lot of electric arcs were moving around frantically. At the end, the light from the swirl even looked brighter than the sun. The griffin riders and gigantic eagles in the fight could not help closing their eyes.

A thousand-meter-long monster lightening came out from the swirl, smashing with great momentum at the station. The mercenaries stared at the sky and looked desperate. Suddenly, a cloud of deep blackness showed, covering the sky above the whole station. The swirl was so bright that it could blind people; the cloud of blackness was so dark that people were scared. The next moment, the lightening crashed onto the blackness and disappeared.

“Saul is here.” Duominge had a bitter smile on his face. In fact, in seeing the Magic Array of Chaos, he had already known that Saul probably was in the station. However, he still had to do something, even though he knew Saul was here. He had the wish that Saul were not here, but at this moment, he realized his wish would never come true.

“What is that?” Scarlet screamed. She could not accept this reality. The yelling and shouting behind her came in waves. Baery had started the attack. She had to rush out as soon as possible.

“Saul started Extradimensional Space,” Douminge said with a sad tone. Douminge was a pain in the neck for Anfey and others, but Saul was much more of a pain to Douminge. If Newyheim was the sharp sword for the Ellisen Empire, then Saul would be the invincible shield for the Maho Empire. The magic characteristics of Saul’s magic was the nightmare for mages at the same level. The Dimensional Mirror Saul released could reflect back non-materialized magic, while inducting other magic’s energy to an unknown space. If there were never a Saul in existence, it would be the time of Newyoheim. The Dark Moon Magic Legion under his leadership could have caused a lot of damage to the Maho Empire. Newyoheim suffered a lot from fighting with Saul. Now it was Douminge’s turn.

“Extradimensional Space was a Forbidden Spell. Did Saul really release a Forbidden Spell?” Scarlet screamed. The hope was right in front of Scarlet’s face, but crashed in the blink of an eye, which made her lose her control.

“No matter where Saul goes, he would carry Space Series magic scrolls with him.” Douminge looked shocked that he did not think Scarlet had such a low caliber of intelligence.

“So do you also…?” Scarlet did not look as dull as before.

“Yes, I need take a break.” Douminge nodded.

“Pass my order to have all the cross bows and bombs ready.” Scarlet gave an order with the top of her voice. She could care less what her teacher said or did.

Chapter 514: Opportunity

The Shansa camp rumbled. Anfey glanced over and his eyes widened. More than sixty magic arrows were released. He and the mages could not stop this many arrows. The formation of the griffin knights tightened and lunged at the druids and mages. They wanted to distract the mages long enough for the arrows to reach the camp.

The League had around five hundred mages left, but the strength of the mages varied. The only ones who were capable of doing real damage were the ones Saul brought.

The griffin knights were very strong and there were very few spells that could harm them. Unless they were attacked by a dozen mages at the same time, magic could not do much damage to the griffin knights.

Anfey gritted his teeth. “Left!” he called to Mauso. He believed in an eye for an eye. If he was under attack and could not defend himself, he would not waste time on defense.

Mauso did not know what Anfey wanted him to do, but he still turned to the left. A few moments later, the two saw a magic signal. That was a warning to the mercenaries that danger was coming.

The magic arrows crashed into the camp and exploded. The mercenaries had seen the signals, but the signal came too late and they were not fast enough to retreat to a safe distance. Miorich’s knights were not spared from the attack either. More than four hundred knights were injured or killed by the arrows. The knights and mercenaries who survived quickly retreated away from the camp. They stood still, waiting for further instructions.

As the magic arrows crashed into the camp, Anfey had already reached the Shansa soldiers in the air. He jumped off of Mauso’s back. He teleported away from the knights and used three magic scrolls in quick succession, then drew his magic sword.

Lightning poured down from sky and struck the griffin knights.

Usually, the griffin knights’ formation would be a loose one to prevent any accidents. They were close together because they wanted to put pressure on the mages. However, Mauso was flying too fast for them to react properly and they were surrounded by druids. This stopped them from spreading out and getting away from the lightning.

The formation of the griffin knights broke down as lighting continued to fall. The serial lightning went through the griffin knights and fell into the range of the magic array, then disappeared.

Dozens of griffin knights fell out of the sky and towards the magic array. This was because of the griffin knights’ special stacking formation which allowed the maximization of the serial lightning’s power.

“Get him!” one of the griffin knights called. “He doesn’t have scrolls anymore!”

The remaining griffin knights turned and all flew towards Anfey. They knew that the only way they could survive was if they fought their way out.

Anfey smiled and raised his axe. He did not like levitation because it limited his speed. He was too slow to chase after the griffin knights, but now the griffin knights were coming to him.

The druids watched excitedly.

“Jacob, does he still have teleportation scrolls?” Saul asked, his eyes were gleaming.

“I think so,” Jacob said. “I made at least a dozen.”

Saul nodded. He turned and whispered something to a mage next to him, then waved his hand and said, “Go with him.”

Anfey gripped his battle axe and observed his surroundings. Even though he was surrounded by enemies and looked like he was at a disadvantage, he was very relaxed. The griffin knights couldn’t use their crossbows anymore and they could not stay in the same place for too long.

Anfey frowned. Instinctively, he felt something was wrong. He sensed that the druids were retreating and even Mauso was flying away.

In the distance, twenty of Saul’s best mages began chanting and conjuring in unison. Anfey frowned and felt his body was growing heavier. He began falling out of the sky. The griffin knights were clearly affected too as they began falling to the ground as well.

Anfey frowned. His eyes widened as he suddenly realized what Saul’s plan was. He quickly found a teleportation scroll and activated it, trying to get out of the range of the gravity spell.

He reappeared further away but was still in the range of the magic array. The teleportation scroll could not cancel out the effects of the gravity spell. Anfey activated another scroll and reappeared again within the range of the magic array.

Mauso flapped his large wings and caught Anfey on his back. The effects of the gravity spell were greater than he imagined. He flapped his wings but could not fly higher. He was forced to dive down and landed safely away from the magic array.

The griffin knights were not as lucky. The griffins could hardly fly under the effects of the gravity spell and the riders only made it harder. They fell into the magic array and disappeared in a flash.

The sky cleared. Most of the griffin knights had fallen from the sky and only a few remained. The druids circled around for a bit before landing. They had wasted too much energy. The mages needed rest as well.

Scarlet watched the event unfold with wide eyes. Next to her, Douminge’s face held a mixture of shock and horror.

“Great!” Baery said with a laugh. He knew how important and dangerous the griffin knights were and this was a great victory for them.

“Douminge just used a forbidden spell,” Steger said. “I don’t think he can use another for a while.”

In the camp near the mouth of the valley, a messenger hurried up to Miorich and said, “General, Lord Saul said we can attack now.”

Miorich nodded. He raised his lance and waved his arm, leading the charging.

The magic array in the valley changed. Miorich stepped into the magic array but nothing happened to him. The knights behind him went through the magic array safely as well.

Anfey and Mauso rested for a few moments and rose into the air again. The two reached the Shansa army before Miorich.

Magic surges in the valley grew even stronger. Douminge paled. He could tell that Saul and Steger were both getting ready to use forbidden spells and he did not know what he should do.

Chapter 515: Goodbye

Stegar showed up in front of the Death Roaring Legion. A thin fog revolved around him at a rapid speed. The fog spun faster and faster, expanding itself into a larger scale.

At the end, Stegar was totally submerged by the fog.

The water vapors in the air moved toward Stegar. They were frozen to ice in different shapes and sizes, floating in the air. The moment Stegar released the Forbidden Spells, ice moved with the fog and left a trace of a sparking light line.

The Forbidden Spell Stegar released was Absolute Ice Kekkai, which was one of the few Forbidden Spells that had both offensive and defensive functions. The ice bounced everywhere, which could not only kill people, but could also become an enormous shield. Those ices could defend against most magic attacks, but also cut off the mental lock, when the spinning speed of the ice had passed a certain limit. Everyone knew where Stegar was, but they could not sense where he was.

Saul slowly let down his magic wand. The magic he had released did not seem to work, but the element surges around him kept to the maximum levels anyway. Douminge was distant and shocked for a second, and looked desperate. Saul released Super Transformation Magic, which needed a long-time for chanting and consumed a lot of magic, just for the effects of instant release. Many people thought Super Transformation Magic was not as powerful as other magic. However, the truth was quite the opposite. Super Transformation Magic could last a few hours, which meant Saul was in a superior position in the next few hours. Saul could take anything, no matter what Douminge wanted to do.

There was a loud explosion sound from the station at the valley. Under the leadership of Jacob, the mercenaries from the league shot out a gigantic magic weapon they had confiscated before, and continued to shoot out over 40 magic weapons. Except for a few magic weapons which remained, the rest were shot out.

The ear-blasting bombing sounds became the soundtrack for the war. In the valley, the Death Roaring Legion and Sacred City Palace Guardians, the two most elite military units in the Maho Empire, followed closely behind Stegar. With Stegar’s rushing in the front, they effortlessly tore up their defense and went straight into their opponents’ field.

Guardian Knights fought with over ten thousand Sacred City Palace Guardians, who were led by Miorich. Unfortunately, the Commander of the Guardian Knights, Menkin, died too soon. His shouting and screaming proclaimed the start of the war, but the strike from Mauso diving from the sky, and Anfey’s ax, came right after it. Anfey was very strong, but Menkin was still strong enough to take the hits from Anfey. However, his horse could not. With a few of his assistants’ help, they forced Anfey to back out, but Miorich went around and attacked him from behind out of nowhere. Anfey and Mauso fought back together with Menkin.

Three top powers fought, one after another, with Menkin. No matter who it was, he could be killed soon. Menkin was cut into pieces very soon. Who it was that contributed to killing Menkin did not seem important to any of them. As the body of Menkin was still warm, all three of them turned around and ran to the valley to continue their killing.

Anfey stood out the most, even more outstanding than Stegar in the Sky of Eyes. Stegar was not fast, but Anfey moved with lightning speed. As element currents moved fanatically, Anfey looked so aggressive that he scared the regular soldiers. Without threats from griffin riders, Anfey seemed to be able to fight without any concerns. When he was surrounded by a few strong soldiers sometimes, and could not end the fight quick, or when encountered dangers, Mauso would help him out immediately, switching to a different location to continue their fights.

Scarlet stared at the Sky of Eyes. She could clearly see where Anfey rushed to, and where soldiers lost their battles. The element currents were Anfey’s special skill. It did not seem to matter for Scarlet to see if that person was Anfey anymore, after she saw the element currents. Guardian Knights had been harassed a lot by Anfey and were scared by him. At this moment, none of the griffin riders were alive. They had been at a disadvantage since the battle started. After seeing Menkin was killed, the Guardian Knights’ morale was about to be crushed, while Anfey was just the last straw for them.

Scarlet’s face turned deathly pale. She slowly let down her knight spear in her trembling right hand. She knew she had to fight now, even though she might not be able to change anything. If she joined the battle, she might be able to encourage the soldiers a little bit, otherwise, there was no point to continue the battle because Cross Valley could be her tomb.

A bit of green light suddenly appeared in the sky and expanded its light range in a very weird way, dyeing the whole sky green. As the griffin riders flew into the sky, they covered the sky like a black cloud. If the griffin riders were just a black cloud, the expanded green light was much larger than the griffin riders. The green light did not only dye the sky and sunlight green, even the skin of the soldiers turned green. There was a stinky smell in the air as well.

Except for a few soldiers, who continued to fight on, the rest of the soldiers all felt the strangeness in the sky. They all stopped fighting, no matter whether they were the soldiers from Maho Emprie or from Shansa Empire. They looked terrified, because they were familiar with this light and smell. These were the death spirits.

Only one person was the exception. Scarlet suddenly laughed hysterically, after she recovered from her momentary state of shock. Scarlet was very closed-up, because she was still very young, and also because of the special experiences she had when she was little. When she grew older, she needed to work hard to achieve her dreams, so she forced herself into social activities. To be more specific, people who were so closed-off, like Scarlet, usually could not take much pressure. Scarlet suffered a lot when she fell into the setup and tried to lead her troop to run away. The issues—the valley exit being blocked by the Magic Array of Chaos, when the griffin riders were all killed, when she was attacked by intense magic attacks from Maho Empire and threatened by many top powers and etc.all tested her bottom lines. In fact, Scarlet had been feeling desperate. However, the appearance of Golman had set her free from the anxiety. She knew how good Golman was and trusted him very much. She seemed to lose some control of herself because the situation changed so fast, and because she had been on an emotional rollercoaster as well.

The battlefield started to calm down. The Absolute Ice Keikka had lost its effects now. Stegar landed among the Death Roaring Legion. He immediately meditated, without caring about the blood on the floor. Golman was a big trouble, so Stegar had to race with time to recover his magic power.

Saul slowly levitated himself into the sky and released Amplification magic. His low and scolding voice echoed in the valley. “Golman, you didn’t forget you had sworn to me before, did you?”

“Saul, don’t push me too far.” Golman did not show himself. He just answered Saul in the same way that his loud voice echoed in the valley. “You should know well the power of Death Armageddon.”

Countless people locked their eyes on Saul. The term of “Death Armageddon” terrified everyone down to their bones. However, what Golman said did give them a little hope. That necromancer looked like he was going to be forced to release Death Armageddon. They hoped Saul would not aggravate him any more. It was normal for the soldiers from Maho Empire to think this way. They had treated Saul as half god and half human. He was the top power who could protect them. It seemed to be ridiculous for soldiers from Shansa Empire to bet everything on Saul.

Saul was deep in thought for a while: “What do you want?”

“Move”, Golman said.

“Golman, don’t you think you are being really naïve now?” Saul asked

“Saul, if you do not want to see dozens of thousands of people, and people from the Country of Mercenaries being turned into death spirits,” Golman sounded more serious, “Move.”

Most soldiers from Shansa Empire were stunned. Some of them had their mouths open wide, and some stared with their eyes wide open. They could not believe what they had heard. “Did this necromancer come here to save them?” they thought to themselves.

“Do you want to kill me this bad?” A high-pitched voice interrupted Anfey’s thinking. Anfey looked up and saw a few knights slowly walking toward him through the group of Guardian Knights who stood there like logs. Three of the knights were all dressed in the same black armors. Anfey seemed to have seen the armor that the very front knight was now wearing before.

“Yes, shouldn’t I?” Anfey answered casually.

“I am giving you another chance. Come, kill me!” The knight took off the helmet, revealing a beautiful face. She laughed loudly, as a lunatic would.

Scarlet hated Anfey deep down to her guts. It was not only because he stopped her from achieving her dreams, but also because the strike Anfey had given her. She was still able to hide her wound, making it appear not as serious as it was, but she could not deny the fact that she was hurt due to the fact that she was carried by her soldiers on the stretcher, with a horse body and with a bloody hole on the saddle. When she faked her death, the soldiers who did not know about it showed the least amount of respect for her and openly discussed how she got hurt. The jerks in the Slave Jail more openly talked about her. Scarlet was still a virgin, and she felt insulted when she constantly heard others talking about her private area. Every time she showered and touched her private area, she could not stop trembling. She never told anyone about this, but she knew the pain and humiliation she suffered, and she would never forget it.

When things seemed to settle, she had to come out to see Anfey. Even though she might have no chance to kill Anfey, she still wanted to take revenge on him badly.

“Has anyone told you that you look ugly when you laugh?” Anfey sounded sincere. He was still concerned with one more issue. In addition, Saul had not made a decision yet. He definitely would not do anything at this moment.

“I admit I underestimated you, but I would not make the same mistake again.” Scarlet did not stop laughing because of Anfey’s criticism. “Anfey, I will see you again. I can swear with my life. Of course, I will see Suzanna too. I will give her the strongest Antimagic Cuffs and send her to the Slave Jail. Hahaha, you can imagine what is going to happen to her from that point.

Really, Anfey, I would not forgive you—all of you. Trust me!”

“I could not imagine, since I have never been to your Slave Jail.” Anfey asked in surprise, “Did you just come out from it?”

“Anfey, I have no time to argue with you. I only hope you can remember every word I said to you, because all of them will come true in the future.” Scarlet had the corners of her mouth curled up and turned her horse around. “Bye.” Anfey was so powerful that she had no chance to kill him, especially when Mauso was with Anfey at this moment. Scarlet was still rational and had to give up her craziest idea.

“Wait a second.” Anfey shouted.

“What’s wrong? Do you want to beg me to forgive you?” Scarlet’s smile started to look less crazy.

“Your attitude is so bad, but I do not mind. I only want to remind you of a few things.” Anfey looked sharp. “First of all, it did not mean much to me when you swore with your life, because your life is worthless, and so, goodbye.”

A strange Mental Roaring waved out, with Anfey at the center. No matter if they were enemies or friends, including Mauso and Doumingo in the dark, their brains all went blank for a very short period of time. Anfey disappeared and showed up again two meters away from Scarlet. He slid his ax straight down. Before Scarlet woke up from the Mental Roaring, the ax had split Scarlet’s head into halves, cutting into the gold rim of the armor. Blood splashed everywhere.

Doumingo almost screamed out loudly. He did not immediately attack Anfey. Instead, he was aimlessly looking for something. Saul, Baery, and Miorich all knew about what was behind the scene, and their faces all changed. Golman had been trying hard to teach Scarlet. Obviously, he wanted to complete some task with her help. Anfey killed Scarlet now.What to do if Golman released Death Armageddon out of anger. In fact, they did not even notice Anfey because the Mental Roaring got all their attention. Unfortunately, when they found what had happened to Scarlet, no one was able to stop Anfey.

Anfey’s face was a little pale, so were his lips, but he still moved very swiftly. He raised the ax again and plunged heavily into Scarlet’s chest with a roaring that echoed in the valley for a long time. Her super strong armor sunk in beneath the blow. With a squeezing sound, blood was forced out. Anfey gave Scarlet’s already slit head a kick into the sky. He pointed at the Valley ahead of him.

Anfey held his arm in the air without moving. His eyes were clear and the corners of his mouth curled down. He looked like he was smirking or challenging someone. At this moment, almost everyone thought Anfey had gone absolutely crazy, but Anfey knew he was more sober and aware than ever.

Fear does not help solve anything, while compromising could only force Anfey into a corner. If Golman really dared to release Death Armageddon, he would release it sooner rather than later. Should the Pan Continent be submissive to Scarlet? Would Yolanthe give up his dream he had had for dozens of years? Would Anfey standby and watch? He had two options: to be at Scarlet’s mercy, or to fight at all cost. Considering Anfey’s personality, he had to choose the latter.

Anfey had heard from the elders and had gotten to know Golman a little bit. If Golman really released Death Armageddon for some reason, why would he go against Minos I?

Chapter 516: Changes

The entire battlefield grew silent. All the soldiers stood and watched in shock. Even the most powerful men in the world could only stand and watch with gaping mouths. They weren’t scared of death. The death magic could not affect them anyway. They were nervous because of the responsibility they had on their shoulders. The soldiers in the Transverse Mountains were the majority of both the Maho Empire and Shansa Empire’s armies. If anything happened to the armies, the entire world may have changed.

Anfey watched with a frown. He had been trying hard to convince himself that he belonged to the Maho Empire. Yolanther was a very careful man and there were very few thing that escaped him. Anfey’s love for the nation had earned him Yolanther’s trust. However, he did not grow up in the Maho Empire. He did not feel responsible for the soldiers the way Saul and the others did. He was willing to try anything to win.

“How did this happen?” Desvidia asked with a deep frown. “Golman, didn’t you say you foresaw her future?”

“Golman!” Morgan called hurriedly. His handsome face was twisted by shock. He knew that the Ring of the Undead had already lost its power after the last time Golman saved Scarlet. The Ring was powerful, but it could not be used without limits. Golman kept the Ring on him to recharge it and wanted to give it to Scarlet when it was recharged. This meant that Scarlet really was dead.

Golman was shaking violently and did not say anything.

“Golman!” Desvidia called, grabbing Golman’s shoulder. He was worried because of the fact that all three of them had betrayed Minos the First. The two of them made this decision because Golman had told them about his plan. He wanted to help Scarlet unite the world and destroy the Church and Minos the First. Then, necromancers could have finally been recognized and respected.

Such a future sounded very attractive to Desvidia and Morgan. The necromancers waged war not because they wanted to rule the world, but because they wanted to exist in peace. However, they were demonized by others and could not achieve this goal.

Minos the First wanted to turn the world into a desolate place where nothing existed. His plan benefited no one but himself, and Desvidia and Morgan knew this better than anyone. This was why the two of them betrayed Minos the First after hearing about Golman’s plan. Now that Scarlet was dead, who will they support? Who will give them the right to exist?

“I did see her future,” Golman whispered.

“But?”

“I got it!” Golman suddenly cried. “I got it!”

“Calm down!” Desvidia said, grabbing Golman’s arm. Desvidia and Morgan were worried that Golman would have done something unthinkable while in a deranged state like this. They had already betrayed Minos the First. If Golman used the Death Armageddon spell and angered Shansa and the Maho Empire, who else would they have turned to?

“How? How am I supposed to calm down?” Golman asked, shaking his head. “Do you remember how I talked about how there was some unclear factor in her future?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you see? I saw Scarlet uniting the world, but now she’s killed by Anfey. This means that he is the factor! He is not from this world.”

Desvidia and Morgan glanced at each other. They didn’t care who Anfey was. All they needed to do was keep Golman from using Death Armageddon. “So what if he isn’t?”

“So what?” Golman repeated with a laugh. “Minos needs to change the rules of this world to do what he needs to do. But Anfey isn’t from this world and the rules doesn’t apply to him. If he was strong enough, he could even face the gods themselves, because he wasn’t created in this world, do you understand?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you see? To us, Minos is a god!”

Morgan and Desvidia watched him with wide eyes. “You mean…” Morgan whispered.

“You want Anfey to fight Minos?”

“He’s the only one,” Golman said. “He has to be.”

Even though Anfey had sent a warning, Saul and the others still did not know what Golman, Desvidia, and Morgan were doing. They knew something was off, but all they could do was wait for Golman to make a choice.

Three figures appeared in the distance. Saul squinted his eyes, then his eyes widened in shock and horror as he recognized the three master necromancers. Even one of these three men could have wreaked havoc on the world. Even in his worst nightmare, Saul had never imagined he would have seen all three of them together.

However, the three figures didn’t do anything. Instead, they turned and rose into the sky. A few Death Knights broke out of the Shansa rank and chased after the three necromancers.

Saul watched, his body shaking. He wanted to catch the necromancers and ask them what they wanted to do, but he refrained from it. Saul did not know the effects of Death Armageddon and did not know whether Golman had used the magic or not. Luckily, judging from the situation, the necromancers did not do anything.

Baery, Miorich and Steger all watched in stunned silence. They did not know how to express their thoughts. The fact that the three master necromancers left without doing anything was even more unnerving than the fact that they were on the battlefield together.

Anfey was even more perplexed. Golman could have betrayed Minos the First because he believed that Minos the First wasn’t the answer to his problems. Simply leaving was not something he expected Golman to do.

“Saul,” Douminge called, rising into the air. “It’s just you and me now.”

“It’s you and us,” Saul corrected him.

Douminge smiled and sighed, shaking his head.

Alice was inside the camp, observing the battle from the Eye of the Sky. She was very calm when she saw the necromancers. When she saw Anfey kill Scarlet, she laughed. When she saw Douminge appear in the air, the smile froze on her face and her eyes widened.

Chapter 517: Appreciation

Maho Empire had prepared very well for this war. The so-called preparations centered around thinking about what would happen in either victory or loss. If they won, they would like to see maximum profit. If they lost, they would like to see how to protect the survivors and delay Scarlet’s attack. Baery, acting as the general, outlaid dozens of plans, in case of any unforeseen changes. He chose a comparatively radical plan in the end, hoping to end the war in half a month’s time.

Saul set up the Magic Array of Chaos to block Scarlet from escaping. This was the first step. In the next three days, Baery would try his best to reduce Scarlet’s military power. On the third day, Saul would start the Magic Array of Chaos, which would delude Scarlet and soldiers from the Shansa Empire with hope. On the fourth day, Miorich would take Sacred City Palace Guards and the League of Mercenaries to the grassland, before the Magic Array of Chaos lost its effects. Baery thought it would take them at least about two weeks to chase and annihilate the rest of the troops from Shansa Empire on the endless grassland.

No one thought all these plans would become useless. It might be because Maho Empire was blessed, or it was just a coincidence. The soldiers from Shansa Empire lost their morale. The death of Scarlet could contribute the most for the mess, but what necromancers did was not able to be neglected. There were things that could be put ahead of the interests of the country. For example, the battle between humans and necromancers. That necromancer wanted Saul to move out of the way for him, which confused most soldiers from Shansa Empire.

Some smarter soldiers from Shansa Empire thought more than others. They thought of Scarlet’s assassination, and wondered if she turned into a death spirit, or if royal families in Shansa Empire had been controlled by necromancers, or if they were actually fighting for necromancers.

The appearance of the eldest princess of Shansa Empire was another hit. Alice had showed herself in the political arena quite often, but was rarely involved with military issues. There were soldiers who knew about Alice. They passed around that information by word of mouth, so that everyone knew who Alice was. Not to mention the regular soldiers, including even Douminge, who had made the decision to devote his life to this battle, was stunned.

Both Baery and Saul were very smart and experienced, so they immediately figured there must be something between Alice and Douminge. Baery ordered all the soldiers not to make any moves until they got orders from him. Saul took Alice from Entos. He left the battlefield and invited Douminge to the side of the valley. They started to talk. Baery went over and joined their conversation. Very few people knew what they talked about, but everyone knew they talked for a long time. They talked until it was already dark.

After their conversation, a few strange orders were given. The Maho Empire gathered its soldiers and readied to set up their station, cleaning the battlefield while Shansa Empire ordered soldiers had let down their arms and regrouped. These things had never happened before. There was no concept for captives on Pan Continent. Captives were the main source of slaves. If captives were very strong and powerful, they could be tortured to death, just as how Yolanthe treated the captives from Dark Moon Legion.

Beary was supposed to be in charge of everything at this moment, but he dug into his tent and started to work on writing dozens of letters. Saul was busy setting up a small magic Transmission Portal and sent Baery’s letters to the Sacred City. They could not believe Alice was actually the princess in the Shansa Empire, and a very prestigious princess at that. This new information could change the situation in so many different ways. It actually could change the entire plan Yolanthe had.

In the morning, Anfey slowly walked into Alice’s tent. He found Alice curled up on the bed with red eyes.

“Scarlet is definitely dead this time. You should be happy about it,” Anfey said in a low pitch.

“When you told me she was dead the first time, I was so excited that I did not sleep the whole night,” Alice said.

“You did not seem to sleep last night either, did you?” Anfey looked at Alice’s eyes.

“It’s different.” Alice shook her head. “I suddenly felt sad. In fact, Scarlet and I should not have fought to this point. We could have ended up in a better situation.”

“Should? Hehehe, there are many “should haves.”Anfey took a seat with smiles. “Let’s take Suzanna and I for example. If I did something to her back then, Suzanna should have been chasing me around to try to kill me.”

“Did what to her?” Alice asked in curiosity.

“I mean…something not decent.” Anfey smiled. “Luckily, I knew what was the right thing to do, so I can marry Suzanna now. We could have ended up as enemies. I am telling you these things to let you know that what happens to a person depends on what he did before. Sometimes it was just one decision that could change everything. You do not have to think too much.”

“Geeze, are you saying you are a good person?” Alice asked.

“What kind of person do you think I am?” Anfey asked back.

“It’s hard to tell. You are so complicated.” Alice paused for a second and suddenly changed the topic. “Anfey, are you blaming me for it?”

“Blaming you?” Anfey asked in doubt.

“Blaming me for exposing my real identity? Did it put you in a very bad situation?”

“Why would I blame you for that?” Anfey said.

“You don’t blame me for it, really?” Alice asked.

“Alice, why are you becoming so nagging? Do I have to pretend in front of you?” Anfey felt helpless when he had to prove he was telling the truth.

“Douminge is my teacher,” Alice said in a low pitch. “He has treated me very well. When my fa…Edward VIII…forced me to get married in the Country of Mercenaries, only Douminge, my teacher, stepped out to try to convince Edward VIII not to send me there. Others were just watching me make a fool of myself.”

“I see,” Anfey said.

“I know him and respect him. I do not want to see anything happen to him. I do not think you want to see your teacher get hurt either, so…” Alice smiled bitterly. “I panicked. I only wanted to stop their fight, but did not think what would happen afterwards. Anfey, I really did not think of it. I did not mean to do that.”

“Are you afraid I would misunderstand you?” Anfey smiled. “Do you think it is necessary to explain all these things to me? Alice, don’t forget we are friends.” Anfey got what Alice was trying to tell him. If Archmage Michael could fight for his life at that critical moment, so could Douminge. He trusted Alice.

“I do not think you understand it. I used to live in fear and anxiety. My fears and worries became true.” Alice said slowly. “I have followed you for a year. Life has been simple, but you gave me a warm and secure feeling. It might be called happiness, for a woman.”

“Are you trying to embarrass me?” Anfey smiled. “I admit I doubted you and did not trust you at the beginning.”

“How about now?” Alice asked.

“Now? You have earned the respect and trust from me with your own actions,” Anfey said.

“What else?” Alice did not hear enough compliments.

“Huh?” Anfey was confused.

“I mean your feelings towards me,” Alice said.

“Well…you are more capable than me in many ways. If I did not have you, I would not have the League of Mercenaries,” Anfey said.

“Is that it?” Alice bit her lips. “Do you want to know how I feel about you?”

“Didn’t you talk about it already?” Anfey looked like he had suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right, Alice, I need your help.”

Alice heaved a slight sigh. She knew Anfey tried to avoid talking about these things on purpose. “What is it?”

“Baery wanted Douminge to be the commander for the Shansa United Troop, but he turned it down. I think Kumaraghosha would be the best person for that position, besides Douminge.”

“What does Kumaraghosha say about it?” Alice asked.

“He turned it down as well.” Anfey smiled bitterly. “He said the league took him in when he was going through a hard time. He would never leave the league.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy about Kumaraghosha being so loyal?” Alice asked.

“It’s not about that. Besides, I am not that close-minded.” Anfey shook his head. “Alice, I cannot convince him. I have to rely on you for that.”

“I will try.” Alice nodded.

“Great. You can do so much more than me.” Anfey smiled and mocked himself. “I really do not understand what good staying in the league would do him. I cannot even convince him to leave.”

“That is called appreciation.” Alice did not have any magic power, but she looked very sharp.

“Some people do not understand what appreciation means, but others put it in front of everything else. Kumaraghosha was of the latter.”

Anfey went quiet for a while and smiled. “Ok, I will have Kumaraghosha come to see you. Please help me.” Anfey slowly stood up.

“Wait, Anfey, I have something to ask you Alice said.

“What is it?” Anfey asked.

“Do you know Golman?” Alice asked.

Anfey was shocked for a second and fell back to the chair. He looked upset. “Alice, this is the thousandth time I have heard you and others asking me the same question. Can we not talk about it now?” Not only Alice asked Anfey about it, but also Saul, Baery, Christian—almost all the people in the high positions—friends, and his subordinates had asked him the same question in different ways. He could not stand it anymore.

“I am just curious.” Alice whined like a little kid after she saw how Anfey had reacted in such an exaggerated way. “If you do not know Golman, why didn’t he release Death Armageddon? When he left, why did he stare at you? Besides, how do you know Golman would not release Death Armageddon?”

“Because Golman and I are brothers,” Anfey said.

“Really?” Alice was shocked.

“No,” Anfey said.

Chapter 518: Poor Man

The plain next to the Transverse Mountains had already been turned into a large army camp. Both the Maho army and the Shansa army had made camp there. Everyone, even Baery, was surprised by the turn of events. If they could take advantage of it and attack the Shansa Empire, it was a sure victory. However, it was too much of a risk. The Shansa soldiers were exhausted and Douminge still had not made his stance clear. The Maho army did not have enough supplies for another battle. An attack on the Shansa Empire had to wait.

Anfey rubbed his temple. For days, his life consisted of nothing but meetings with different generals and soldiers. Anfey was more of a fighter and did not like these long meetings. Christian, on the other hand, was very eager to attend them.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Saul asked after noticing how tired Anfey looked during one of them.

“I’m fine, Master Saul,” Anfey said. “I just… I don’t think I am the right person to have an opinion on these matters. Master Douminge must have more thoughts on them.”

“We’ve invited him,” Baery said with a sigh. “Multiple times, in fact. Douminge kept finding excuses not to come. I don’t blame him though. He needs time.”

“How about Alice, then?” Anfey asked.

“Speaking of Alice,” Steger said. “Anfey, you should have told us who she really is.”

“It’s a…pleasant surprise,” Baery said with a laugh.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Saul asked curiously. He had spent more time with Anfey than the others, but he did not press Anfey about it because he trusted Anfey to make the right decision. But, since Steger had already asked, Saul saw no point in keeping his silence. He was Anfey’s teacher and he should have been the one to ask the question.

“I gave her the name Alice,” Anfey said. “She said she wanted to forget everything. I promised her that I would keep her secret.”

“It’s not that easy to forget,” Miorich said.

“Of course,” Anfey said with a nod. “But this is her wish and I respect her.”

“But you still could have reported this,” Dalmatian said with a frown. “She won’t know even if you do report this to His Majesty.”

“Of course I are lie to her,” Anfey said. “But that is not how I want to treat her. If she is to be my friend, she deserves my respect and she deserves her privacy.”

Dalmatian frowned but did not say anything.

“When we first found her, she had been sold into slavery. Her best friend was tortured and raped. She was in a state of despair. She asked me to protect her. I agreed. I gave her my word and I am a man of my word.”

Dalmatian sighed and nodded.

“I am at fault too,” Christian suddenly said. “If Father is angry, he should punish me as well.”

“You know that she is a Shansa princess?”

“Anfey told me.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Alice isn’t just Anfey’s friend,” Christian said. “She is my friend as well.” Christian knew how much Alice disliked the upper class. There was no way she would have worked with any nobles.

Baery shook his head. “I understand where you two are coming from, but you still should have said something.”

“Alice will think that we’ve betrayed her.”

Saul sighed and shook his head. “It’s too late to say anything now,” he said. “Let’s not focus on the past.” He turned to his two students and asked, “I’ve noticed something about her. She was actively trying to help us earlier, but now that we know who she is, she’s become secluded and distant. I do not understand. Is it because she cannot trust His Majesty? If that is the case, I want you two to tell her that His Majesty has never let any loyal man or woman down.”

Anfey shook his head. “It’s not that she doesn’t trust His Majesty,” he said. “She doesn’t trust you.”

“What about us?”

“Everything about you.”

“Does she trust you?”

Anfey and Christian glanced at each other. “She does,” Anfey said.

Baery frowned. Anfey could tell that Baery wasn’t happy about this and said hurriedly, “It’s not anything personal. It’s that she was let down before by royalties and nobles. She has no reason to trust you guys.”

“Why does she trust you, then?”

“Because she had no choice but to trust us,” Anfey said.

“When we first met her, we were just kids,” Christian said. “I think she trusts us because we were so different back then from what she knew.”

“What are some things she likes?” Saul asked suddenly.

Anfey frowned. “I’m not sure,” he said. “She never really talks about herself.”

“Is there anyone she is particularly close to?”

“Feller and Hui Wei,” Anfey said. “They are her assistants.”

“If she is to marry, who do you think she will choose?”

Anfey and Christian’s eyes widened.

“She has… very high standards,” Christian said with a smile. “To be frank, I don’t think she will ever marry either one of them.”

“Is there anyone else she’s close to?” Saul asked.

“Master Saul, why are you so interested in her personal life?”

“His Majesty wanted her to have a relatively normal life,” Saul said. “He wanted her to pick someone she can be happy with. She can marry whoever she wants.”

“I know who she always talks to,” Christian said. Before he could say anything else, Anfey kicked him in the shin and glared at him.

“It’s Kumaraghosha,” Anfey said before Christian could say anything else. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was close with Alice because it would have been bad for all parties involved.

“Kumaraghosha and Alice?” Saul frowned. “Christian, who were you going to say?”

“Ozzic.”

“No way,” Anfey said, shaking his head. He glanced at Saul, who had no idea that two of his best students were tricking him, and smiled.

Chapter 519: Laziness

Anfey came back to his place with a listless look. Suzanna was not there. Anfey asked a few mercenaries about where Suzanna was, but none of them knew. Finally, Ye got the answer for Anfey: Suzanna and Hagan had taken the little unicorn out.

With Ye’s direction, Anfey walked out of the camp to look for Suzanna. He came to a low hill and saw Suzanna sitting at the foot of it. Hagan was about 200 meters away from her. He kept saying something to the little unicorn and playing with him. The little unicorn was not as naughty as before, since he had taken the potion.

“What are you thinking of?” Anfey asked, as he took a seat next to Suzanna.

“I am thinking about Shally. I am not with her now, and I do not know if anyone gave her any trouble.” Suzanna heaved a sigh, becoming sentimental suddenly. She could not help but think of Shally when she saw Hagan playing with the little unicorn. Shally used to play with the little guy.

“She got Niya.” Anfey smiled. “You know Niya’s temper. She would go crazy if there is anyone who dares to give Shally troubles. Do you think anyone in the small Violet City dares to challenge Niya?”

“The problem is that Urter is missing now. If Niya has any trouble, she would have no one to help her, Suzanna said.

“You must be kidding!” Anfey shook his head. “Violet City is my feudal estate. Niya is the only daughter of Saul. Do you think anyone would be stupid enough to challenge them? Don’t you think they would know whom they should work for, out of sheer common sense?”

“But Marquis Djoser is going back there,” Suzanna said.

“Really? Where did you hear that?” Anfey was shocked for a second.

“Master Miorich told me,” Suzanna answered.

“Ok”, Anfey said.

“That could not be right.” Anfey rubbed his chin. “Why do I feel someone is trying to use us to kill the people he wants to kill?”

“What do you mean?” Suzanna rolled her eyes at Anfey. “Master Miorich and Marquis Djoser did not have any conflict between them. It was just nice of him to remind us of that.”

“Why would he do that? Miorich should have no problem killing Marquis Djoser. If he tried to remind us, why did he not just kill Marquis Djoser for us as a favor?” Anfey asked.

“Why do you think everyone owes us?” Suzanna felt helpless when she had to deal with the way Anfey thought. “Marquis Djoser does not have much power right now, but his title is still a duke. If Miorich killed Marquis Djoser, he would not be able to explain to the royals?”

“Not bad, not bad. You have learned to think.” Anfey playfully flicked Suzanna’s forehead. “But why didn’t you think that if I killed Marquis Djoser, how would I explain that to everyone?”

“You?” Suzanna found this funny and irritating the same time. “You dared to kill the grandson of Philip, Zeda. You did not care about explaining to anyone.”

“So, do you think I have been very arrogant?” Anfey asked.

Suzanna was not in the mood to be arguing with Anfey. She simply looked away to the sky.

“We cannot let Marquis Djoser go back to the Violet City,” Anfey said slowly. Urter had been missing. If Marquis Djoser went to make troubles there, Niya would not be able to handle him.

“Have you decided if you want to kill him?” Suzanna asked.

“Kill him? I do not like violence,” Anfey said.

Suzanna felt that she was about to go nuts at any time. If she was more outgoing, she would definitely have done something violent to Anfey. For example, she could have pinched or bit Anfey. She definitely could have committed these flirty attacks on Anfey. Every time Suzanna was discussing something serious with Anfey, he would become very playful and flirty. If she gave him the cold shoulder, Anfey would become serious again.

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” Suzanna pouted.

“Kill two birds with one stone. Hehehe, I like it.” Anfey had a faint smile on his face. He fought on the battlefield during the war, but he did not provide any input when it came to the strategic plans. It was because he did not know much about military strategies, but he was good at scheming to set people up. He was smarter than most people. In the blink of an eye, he could concoct a devious double-gain plan.

“What?” Suzanna asked.

“This plan needs Master Jacob and Christian to take some hits,” Anfey said.

“What does it have to do with Christian, when we have to kill Marquis Djoser?” Suzanna asked in surprise.

“How to put it? Christian might not like the path he has to take, but I am going to give him a push,” Anfey said.

“Anfey, what the hell are you talking about?” Suzanna stared at him with her almond-shaped eyes open wide.

“Christian is the supervisor of the Shield of Light legion, the vice CEO of the League of Mercenaries, and the commander of Mage Group. He deserves two medals for what he did. This war is significant. The previous wars were just regular battles. No matter how much Granden had contributed to them, he will not stand out as much as Christian. It is a terrific opportunity,” Anfey said with a smile.

“Anfey, what are you going to do?” Suzanna asked.

“Don’t ask me, but don’t worry. I would not do anything crazy.” Anfey patted Suzanna’s hand. Men always wanted to give their loved ones an impression of positivity and uprightness. Anfey did not want Suzanna to know too many negative things about him, so he only mentioned things, but did not tell Suzanna about the minute details.

Suzanna paused for a second, but did not press Anfey for the answer. She put her arm in Anfey’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder. After a while, she asked, “Anfey, you did not look good. What happened?”

“What else could it be?” Anfey smiled bitterly. “Professor gave me two important but difficult tasks.”

“What?” Suzanna asked in surprise.

“He asked me to convince Alice and Kumaraghosha.” Anfey sighed. “I don’t think I can convince them. Alice and Kumaraghosha both have something bothering them. No matter how much I try to convince them, it would not work if their problems were not solved.”

“Didn’t Alice agree on it?” Suzanna asked.

“It’s different. King wants Alice to be fully on board, instead of just simply agreeing,” Anfey answered.

“In fact, Alice is such a poor girl. Her father used her and took advantage of her. Of course, she is worried that someone else would take advantage of her again,” Suzanna said.

“It is not a big deal, being used. She still shares the blood with Edward VIII after she was taken advantage of. The problem is that she has nothing to protect herself if she works for the king,” Anfey said.

“Doesn’t she have us?” Suzanna asked.

“Have you heard of the story of the frightened birds?” Anfey smiled.

Suzanna shook her head. Anfey debriefed Suzanna on that story. Both of them went quiet for a while, then Anfey asked, “I personally believe in the king’s generosity and in him as a ruler, but Alice does not believe in him, so it makes it hard to convince her.”

“In fact…” Suzanna mentioned “in fact” again, but she seemed hesitant. “Back when I went back to Sacred City with you, I was scared too.”

“Why?” Anfey asked in curiosity.

Suzanna smiled bitterly. She had a tough childhood. Darius was extremely brutal and passionate about women, especially the young ones who did not understand their own bodies yet. To make it clear, he wanted to have sex with any girl he saw. He even raped his own daughter in-law. Luckily, Darius had many enemies, so he had to hire bodyguards to protect him. Suzanna was beautiful, but she was also powerful. She ranked top one among the safeguards. Darius needed her to protect him, otherwise he would have raped her even though they shared a blood relationship.

Seeing Darius’s life, Suzanna thought all royals would be like him. When Anfey went back to Sacred City, she was really scared, but could not tell anyone. To think back about it, Suzanna felt humiliated for doubting Saul in front Anfey and Christian. Back then, she had determined to protect her virginity with her life. After what happened afterwards, she had been treating Saul as her family. Suzanna appreciated him a lot, especially when Yolanthe saved her mother and brought her back at any cost. It seemed her fear and worry was ridiculous when she tried to recall that time. Because of her previous experience, Suzanna understood Alice’s fear.

“You know I have seen a lot when I was little.” Suzanna did not know how to put it. It was so embarrassing to talk about.

“Suzanna, do you want to see Darius, if you know where he is?” Anfey suddenly asked Suzanna.

“No!” Suzanna answered firmly. She used to think that all the people in power were the same, but she knew Darius was just trash, after she got to know how generous and forgiving Yolanthe was, how kind Saul was, and how upright Bruzuryano was. After she got to see her mother, she felt there was nothing left between Darius and her.

Anfey did not say anything in response to Suzanna’s answer. He had made the decision in his mind that Darius could die if Suzanna did not want to see him. This would be good for everyone, of course, except for Darius.

“Anfey, why haven’t we got…” Suzanna suddenly changed a topic.

“Haven’t what?” Anfey asked.

“You are so annoying. You know what I am talking about.” Suzanna blushed.

“Oh, oh, oh.” Anfey’s eyes moved fast.

“Anfey, do you think I am not infertile?” Suzanna asked.

“Don’t think that way. I know the reason,” Anfey said.

“What’s the reason?” Suzanna asked hastily. “Tell me, Anfey. I really want a kid.”

“We are too lazy about it.” The atmosphere had grown a little too heavy, so Anfey tried to lighten it up a little bit. “The last sex we had was few days ago.”

Suzanna did not understand at the beginning. Once she realized what Anfey meant, she was beet red all over her face. When she saw Anfey counting with his fingers, she looked panic. Suzanna was such a nice girl, but she was forced to use violence. She nudged heavily on Anfey’s side and said in embarrassment, “You go to hell!”

“Death is not scary. The problem is how I die.” Anfey looked very flirty when he tried to make Suzanna forget the bad time. “A long time ago, my teacher told me…unfortunately, there are no peonies. Let’s take roses. There was a saying that it would be nice to turn into a ghost, if he could be surrounded by roses. Do you know what it meant? Roses represent women, while ghosts meant death. It means if I die when I am with you… Hey, hey, what are you running for? Come back!”

Chapter 520: Two Birds with One Stone

“This way, my lord,” Marquis Djoser said with a bow.

“You’re too kind, Marquis Djoser,” Christian said with a smile and walked into Marquis’ tent.

Marquis Djoser was about to head back to his own territory and was hosting a small feast. Other than Christian, he invited several other important figures. Except for Saul and Baery, Miorich, Shawn, Dalmatian and Steger all showed up. Even though they knew Anfey and Marquis were not on friendly terms, Marquis was a nobleman and it was better to keep him happy.

After a few cups of wine, Christian asked, “Marquis Djoser, why are you leaving so suddenly? Is something wrong back home?” Djoser’s territory was next to Violet City and Christian wanted to find out why he was going back.

“I don’t want to leave,” Marquis said, shaking his head. “I saw with my own two eyes how bright the Empire’s future is. I wish I could stay here and witness more, but I am old now, my Lord. My body cannot handle the pace of a military camp anymore.”

“It is a shame,” Christian sighed.

Marquis nodded. “It really is, but I must accept the reality.” He picked up the wine bottle and filled Christian’s cup. “As I said, I’m old now. I don’t have a lot of time left. The Crown will take my territory after my death. There’s nothing left for me to do. This is all the work of fate.” He sighed and lowered his gaze.

Christian glanced at Marquis and picked up the cup. Just as he was about to drink the wine, he was interrupted by a bellow. “Hold up!”

The two guards outside the tent stumbled inside. A few seconds later, Anfey marched into the tent as well. He walked up to Christian and grabbed the cup full of wine. He raised it to his face and narrowed his eyes.

“I do not recall inviting you, Lord Anfey,” Marquis Djoser said coldly and stood up.

“Anfey, what are you doing here?” Christian asked and stood up as well. He had wanted to talk to Anfey about Marquis’ invitation, but he had not been able to find him.

Anfey ignored both of them. He dipped a finger into the wine and sniffed it. Then, he turned and called, “Ye, find me a pony.”

“Yes, sir,” Ye replied loudly outside the tent.

“What is the meaning of this?” Marquis Djoser asked angrily.

Anfey’s action had stalled the entire feast. Everyone was waiting for what happened next. Djoser couldn’t have been stupid enough to try to poison Christian, could he? Why would he have poisoned Christian anyway?

A few minutes later, Ye returned to the tent with a pony. Anfey grabbed the pony and fed the entire cup of wine to the small horse. It only took a few minutes for the pony to fall to the ground with a whine. It jerked around for a few moments and fell still.

“Want to say anything?” Anfey asked.

Djoser and Christian stared at the dead pony with wide eyes. Miorich narrowed his eyes and slammed a fist onto the table. “How dare you?” he asked loudly.

“No,” Djoser said as if waking from a trance. “It’s not what it seems.”

“Ye,” Anfey said, “bring the witness here.”

Ye appeared with one of Djoser’s servants. He stumbled into the tent and knelt down on the ground. “I didn’t know anything about this, my Lord! You have to believe me. I didn’t know anything!”

“Tell me what you said earlier,” Anfey said.

“I said Lord Jacob and Lord Djoser were speaking yesterday,” the servant said. “Lord Jacob said he wanted to make a potion that makes people stronger, but instead he made a strange poison. Lord Jacob came to Lord Djoser asking if he had any raw materials.”

“Keep talking.”

“Then, Lord Djoser became really excited, he…”

“Nonsense!” Djoser interrupted the servant angrily. He lunged towards him but was stopped by Ye’s men.

Anfey snorted. “Lord Jacob, please come in.”

Djoser’s face paled when he heard Jacob’s name, and he fell to the ground.

Jacob walked into the tent and nodded at Anfey.

“Lord Jacob, does this servant speak the truth?”

Jacob nodded. “I did make a strange poison a few days ago,” he said. “The poison will work thirty days after being consumed and is very hard to detect. Marquis was very interested in it. I had no use for it and, since he was so interested, I gave it to him.”

“Can you tell me if the poison is present in this wine?” Anfey asked, handing the bottle to Jacob. Jacob raised the bottle to his face and sniffed its contents.

“There is poison in this wine, alright,” he said.

“Take him away,” Anfey said, pointing at Marquis.

Djoser suddenly jumped up from the ground. He pointed at Anfey and began to scream curses. None of the mercenaries were able to stop him. They had to stuff a ball of cloth into his mouth to silence him.

“Lord Miorich, I will take him and the evidence,” Anfey said, grabbing the wine bottle and cup.

“I’ll handle this,” Miorich said after a moment of hesitation.

“Christian, have any men gone through his place?” Anfey asked. “See if there is anything suspicious. I want you there when we interrogate him.”

Christian nodded.

Anfey followed Djoser and the mercenaries into the tent of inspectors. Djoser glared at Anfey, but Anfey ignored his gaze.

Anfey sat down on a chair in front of Djoser and waved his hand. A mercenary hurried over and removed the cloth from Djoser’s mouth. “Did you really think there is a poison that works exactly thirty days after it is consumed?” Anfey asked mockingly.

Djoser froze. “What do you mean?”

Anfey raised the bottle to his lips and took a sip. “It’s a nice wine,” he said. “How long have you had it?”

“I…”

“Jacob never gave you anything poisonous,” Anfey said. “Do you want to try it?”

Djoser watched him with wide eyes. He knew nothing about poisons and Jacob was an authority when it came to them. Of course, Djoser believed Jacob.

“I know you tricked two servants into drinking this,” Anfey said. “You only used it because they lived, right?”

Djoser laughed but did not say anything.

“Why are you laughing?”

“If there’s no poison in there, what can you do to me? I am a nobleman!” Djoser said. He caught Anfey’s eyes and his voice died down.

Anfey sighed and shook his head. He found a small vial in his dimensional ring and dumped its content into the bottle. “Now there is poison.”

“Jacob’s with you!”

“You just realized this?” Anfey asked with wide eyes, as if surprised.

Edy pushed into the tent and nodded at Anfey. “Are we starting now?”

“No,” Anfey said. “We’ll wait for Christian. Remember everything I told you?” he asked.

Edy nodded.

“Good,” Anfey said. He turned to Djoser and said, “Let me introduce you. This is Lord Edy. He is a necromancer and is excellent at interrogation. By the time he’s done with you, we will know everything we need to know.”

“My lord,” Ye called. A few moments later, Christian and Ozzic walked into the tent. Christian was frowning.

“Djoser,” he said. “Why did you try to poison me?”

“He won’t say anything,” Edy said as he grabbed Djoser. “Allow me. I promise you I can give you a satisfying answer.”